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Syllabus Weaving Truths: Commissions Victims and Witnesses from Gender and Participatory Perspectives - 58936
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Last update 08-09-2022
HU Credits: 1

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: International Relations

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: English

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Araceli Garcia del Soto

Coordinator Email: argarcia@fordham.edu

Coordinator Office Hours: BETWEEN NOVEMBER 22-30, by appointment

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Araceli Garcia del soto

Course/Module description:
In the aftermath of violence countries and citizens try to make sense of the violence they experienced, witnessed and inflicted, to come to terms with the post- conflict scenarios and to figure out how to move forward. Different actors hold different memories and versions of what caused the violence and their stories about acts of violence are often conflicted and threaded with additional, often silenced, dimensions of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class and so on. Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRC) are appointed to weave together contradictory sets of truths, told by survivors, witnesses and policy maker in order to create a more inclusive (hi)story of the events. The process itself as well as the resulting report and recommendations are central to the healing process of nations.
Gender based violence is commonly practiced and commonly silenced in conflicts. This course addresses participatory ways and tools to work with survivors, individually and collectively. Forensic anthropologies, psychologists, social workers, educators and artists have ways to contribute to the wellbeing of the victims, along with the establishing of Institutions that focus on the truth to be heard and the reparations to be considered. During the course we will present different ways of working around these topics, watch videos and testimonies and exercise group work and role playing, to better understand the aspects involved in the processes of damage and recovery experienced by the survivors and their communities.

Course/Module aims:
1. Understand and reflect on the goals and challenges of Transitional Justice and Truth Commissions
2. Learn about the complexity of the processes developed from the impacts of violence toward transformation and resilience, depending on the victim´s gender, age, identity, etc.
3. Listen to the realities of disappearances in Spain and Colombia as told by the family members of the missing

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Describe the main challenges of Transitional Justice and the Truth Commissions, in general, and their gender approaches.
2. Describe the main impacts and resiliency strategies when working with victims of conflict, considering gender and the experiences attached to its realities.
3. Analyze pros and cons in programs on sexual violence and disappearances in recent conflicts.

Attendance requirements(%):
100%

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Presentations, Q&As, Videos (including artistic pieces), Reading of Testimonies.
Group work: role playing and exercises

Course/Module Content:
1. Transitional Justice and Truth Commissions (TRCs) foundations. Main Approaches on Gender(s), Ethnicity & Exile. Examples of TRCs.
2. Gender and Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict. Do´s and Don´ts. Examples of non-legal feminist justice work in the Balkans, Colombia and Guatemala.
3. The Missing and their families. Examples of work in Colombia and Spain. Taking care of ourselves when we work on these human rights issues.


Required Reading:
1. On working Internationally with Women. Interview by Roy Eidelson (2020) https://www.psychologytoday.com/ie/blog/dangerous-ideas/202005/another-pandemic-sexual-violence-during-war
2. Colombian Peace Accord- Gender Perspective on the Implementation. Kroc Institute (2018)
3. “On Waiting and Hoping” Colombia. SGBV (2011). International Law/Revista Colombiana de Derecho Internacional. Edición Especial de JUSTICIA TRANSICIONAL n. 17. De Esperas y Esperanzas. Aspectos psicosociales en procesos de justicia transicional. pp 447-481.
4. “Working with victims of violence in international contexts: The search for empirical knowledge, and common tensions to the analyses of Civil Society.” García del Soto, A. (2018). Sociedad Civil y Cultura Política. Homenaje a Victor Perez Diaz. Eds. Funcas y Aranzadi
5. Colombian EXILE, TRC, CEV. (2019) https://latindispatch.com/2019/04/18/as-violence-continues-at-home-exiled-colombians-reconstruct-collective-memory/
6. Book review (Crosby, A. and Lykes, M. B. (2019). Beyond Repair? Mayan Women’s Protagonism in the Aftermath of Genocidal Harm. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press).Collective Wings: Mayan Women in Guatemala Shaking Up Impunity (2020)
7. Abstract that will be shared of “La mar devuelve la verdad. Les Candases” In press, Ministry of Presidency. Madrid, Spain. The case of 8 women thrown down the cliffs in Asturias, back in June 1938 within the repression that took place after the Spanish Civil War (this publication is the work with the family members, third and four generations, with a strong emphasis on gender perspective and the transmission of intergenerational pain).

Additional Reading Material:
1.- Inter-Agency Standing Committee (2015) Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action: Reducing risk, promoting resilience and aiding recovery.

2.- Lucena, Jorge Gutierrez. Truth Commissions and the Mental Health of Victims, August 28, 2016. https://www.e-ir.info/2016/08/28/truth-commissions-and-the- mental-health-of-victims/
3.- Martin Beristain, C. (2006) Humanitarian Aid: A Critical Approach. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

4.- Psychologys Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada´s Report, May 2018, 1-36. A report of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Psychology Foundation of Canada

5.- Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres. English Version (2017). The Women ́s Truth. Victims of the Armed Conflict in Colombia. Summary
6.-Women´s Court, Balkans. (2015)
7.-Through a New Lens: A Child-Sensitive Approach to Transitional Justice” ICTJ (2011)
8.-Memory for Life. A Colombian Truth Commission Proposal for Women (2015)

9.-Women´s Truth Colombia (2018); Arabic Version Women´s Truth Colombia (2020)
10.-Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War. Lindsay Stark & Mike Wessells. JAMA (2012)
11.-IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial support in Emergency Settings (2007)
12.-Advancing Global Accountability. The Role of Universal Jurisdiction in Prosecuting International Crimes. ICTJ (2020)

Grading Scheme :

Additional information:
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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