MITRA4421 – War, Peace and the Nobel Peace Prize

Course content

In this course we want to use the lens of the Nobel Peace Prize and its over a century-long history to discuss shifting meanings of peace (and war) from a historical and historiographical point of view. Sessions in this course will give an introduction into the historiography on peace and peace movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The Nobel Peace Prize and the long list of awardees will serve as a point of departure to discuss various concepts of peace in their respective historical contexts and relate them to questions of peace politics, social justice, reconciliation, disarmament, environmentalism and others. In their term papers students will apply their knowledge by choosing Peace Prize winners and use them as a prism to develop a reflection on these relations. The course will include a practical module on "how to write a term paper" which will get students to work with primary sources and help them to conceptualize a small research project.

Learning outcome

After you have taken this course you are expected to be able to:

• Have gained an overview of and be able to discuss major trajectories and processes related to the history of war and peace in the 20th and 21st centuries
• Have gained an overview of and be able to discuss the most important historiographical approaches to questions of war and peace in the 20th and 21st century
• Have gained an overview and be able to discuss interdisciplinary perspectives on war and peace and to sketch out the basic theories that explain the nature of international relations, including their relevance and implications for the interpretation of historical events
• Discuss in some detail the position of the Nobel Peace Prize within international history
• Work with others in small groups, including providing constructive and structured comments to other students’ contributions.
• Develop a small, individual research project
• Demonstrate oral presentation skills

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

The course is available to all students accepted to Modern International and Transnational History (master) and Peace and Conflict Studies (master).

Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

Recommended previous knowledge

A good ability to read and understand English is required for this course

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with HIS4421 – War, Peace and the Nobel Peace Prize (continued).

Teaching

Two seminars are dedicated to on-the-spot workshops at the Library of the Norwegian Nobel Institute and will be centred on working with primary sources and designing and writing a seminar paper.

Students are expected to actively participate in teaching, and prepare for each meeting.

Students have to submit a sketch of the term paper project for confirmation to qualify for the exam.

Resources and information in this course will be given in Canvas.

Examination

The compulsory assignments must be passed in order to hand in the exam.

The course is assessed by a term paper of 5,000 to 6,000 words (c. 12-15 standard pages) length. The assignment is specified on the Canvas page for the course.

The examination of this course is integrated in the teaching of the course and it is therefore not possible to sit for the examination other than by being admitted to the course.

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• How to use AI as a student
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.