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Week 1 | 2 | 3
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Week One (6 September): Introduction and Overview
by Dennis Dijkzeul and Gerald R. Martone (Director of Emergency Response
of the International Rescue Committee).
The first session will discuss complex emergencies, humanitarian aid,
and the role of fieldworkers in general. Why is there now an interest
in these issues? What is changing in the field? What new programs are
being created at humanitarian aid organizations to address psychosocial
issues? Students will be asked to check for themselves why they are interested
in these issues, whether they think they possess some skills, and which
skills they would like to learn.
Readings:
1. Summerfield, D. (1996) The Impact of War and Atrocity on Civilian Populations:
Basic Principles for NGO Interventions and a Critique of Psychosocial
Trauma Projects, HPN Network Paper 14, Relief and Rehabilitation Network,
Overseas Development Institute, London, 41 p. at http://www.odihpn.org/editme/publications.asp
(see below for information on free downloading).
2. UNHCR, East Timor E-mail.
Week Two (13 September): Crisis Counseling for the
Non-Psychologist by Gerald R. Martone (Director of Emergency Response
of the International Rescue Committee).
Class will focus on practical psychosocial issues/skills for practitioners
without formal education in either psychology or social work, who are
involved in working with populations affected by conflict. Students will
be asked what skills they think they posses, which skills they lack, and
which skills they would like to know.
Readings:
1. WHO, UNHCR (1996) Chapter 1 Useful Helping Skills, pp. 3-15, Chapter
3 Function Complaints, pp. 33-38, Chapter 4 Common Mental Disorders, pp.
39-62 in WHO, UNHCR (1996) Mental Health of Refugees, Geneva.
Week Three (20 September): Issues of Sexual Gender
Based Violence by Jeanne Ward (Program Director of the Sexual and Gender
Based Violence at the International Rescue Committee).
Session will explore particular issues related to dealing with victims
of sexual gender based violence, with particular focus on the role of
rape and sexual violence in conflicts.
Readings:
1. New York Times Article, 22 February 2001, "3 Serbs Convicted in
Wartime Rapes" (get this article from Lexis Nexis).
2. Boston Globe Article, 23 February 2001, "UN Court Establishes
Rape as a War Crime: 3 Serbs Convicted in Bosnia Assaults" (get this
article from Lexis Nexis).
3. Decision of the International War Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia on the Foca case, The Hague, 2001, at www.un.org/icty/pressreal/p566-e.htm
.
4. Van Brabant, K. (2000) Ch. 12 Sexual Aggression, pp. 155-177 in Van
Brabant, K. (2000) Operational Security Management, Good Practice Review
8, Humanitarian Practice Network, ODI, London.
Week Four (27 September): Reporting human rights abuses
by Professor Anne Nelson (Journalism School, Columbia University, New
York).
Session will explore the ethics of and practical tools for interviewing
for the purpose of documenting abuses/gathering evidence. The class will
discuss the particular psychosocial issues associated with documentation
and interviewing in conflict situations.
Readings:
- Ball, P., Spirer, H.F., and L. Spirer (eds.) Making the Case: Investigating
Large Scale Human Rights Violations Using Information Systems and Data
Analysis, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington,
Chapter 6, The Recovery of Historical Memory Project of the Human Rights
Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala, pp. 151-172.
- For more information, see Introduction and Stage 3 "Interviewing Refugees"
of Anne Nelson's class at the journalism school: www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/nelson/rohde
.
Week Five (4 October): Cross-cultural Communication
by Professor Cheryl Frank (School of Social Work, Columbia University,
New York).
Class will provide an overview of cross-cultural issues and their role
in providing effective assistance. The session will focus on the importance
of cultural context when working with victims of man-made and natural
disasters. In addition, the class will focus on the role of local coping
mechanisms.
Readings:
1. Anderson, M.B. (1999) Aid's Impact on Conflict Through Implicit Ethical
Messages, pp. 55-66, in Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace --
Or War, Lynne Riener Publishers, Boulder.
2. Harrel-Bond, B. (1999) The Experience of Refugees as Recipients of
Aid, pp.136-168 in Ager, A. (ed.) (1999) Refugees: Perspectives on the
Experience of Forced Migration, Cassel, London and New York.
Week Six (11 October): Trauma and Revictimization
by Professor Donna Aman Gaffney (Coordinator, Education and Training,
International Trauma Studies Program, New York University, New York).
Session will explore the phenomenon of revictimization and its relation
to trauma. Techniques for recognizing and minimizing revictimization will
be discussed.
Readings:
1. Mollica, R.F. (1999) Mental Health and Psychological Effects of Mass
Violence, pp. 125-141 in Leaning, J., Briggs, S., Chen L. (eds)(1999)
Humanitarian Crises: The Medical and Public Health Response, Harvard University
Press, Cambridge MA.
Week Seven (18 October): Psycho-Social Impacts on
the Fieldworker by Professor Manuel Carballo (Forced Migration Program,
School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York) (To be confirmed).
Class will provide an overview of the psychosocial effects on fieldworkers
working in conflict settings. Issues will include vicarious trauma, burnout
and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Readings:
1. UNHCR (2000) Handbook for Emergencies, UNHCR, Geneva; Chapter 22, Coping
with Stress, pp. 318-323, Chapter 23, Staff Safety, pp. 323-333.
2. Walkup, M. (1997) Policy Dysfunction in Humanitarian Organizations:
The Role of Coping Strategies, Institutions, and Organizational Culture,
Journal of Refugee Studies, 1, pp. 37-60.
3. Van Brabant, K. (2000) Ch. 13 Detention, Arrest, Abduction, Kidnapping
and Hostage Taking, pp. 178-207, Ch. 14 Withdrawal and Hibernation, pp.
209-229 in Van Brabant, K. (2000) Operational Security Management, Good
Practice Review 8, Humanitarian Practice Network, ODI, London.
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