2024-2025

CMU In this capstone seminar, students review and compare inter-disciplinary and discipline-based approaches to social change, including issues in peacebuilding and conflict transformation, social and economic development, environmental sustainability, and democratization and social movements. Using a seminar format, students will examine contending theories of social change, and address questions of power, interpretation, ethics, commitments, and virtues in understanding and working for social change. These examinations will allow students to explore ways of integrating theories and practices and articulate their own understanding and ethics of social change. UW In this capstone seminar students compare cross-disciplinary and discipline-based approaches to various international development issues. They also explore solutions to the problem of integrating development theory and practice. Students articulate their own understanding of development on the basis of critical reflection on examples of successful and unsuccessful development. The seminar includes critical reflection on students' experiences with development issues in the classroom, the practicum, or in extra-curricular activities.

This course examines the examines ethical questions posed by conflict resolution, international development, and peacebuilding thinking and practice. Consideration of case examples will engage questions such as: Who has agency (who are the appropriate actors who resolve, develop, build)? How do we know if our thinking and practice is good, right, effective, valuable (and by whose standards)? How are the costs and benefits understood, assessed, and distributed? How far do answers to such questions differ between perspectives and worldviews? Learning objectives for this course section. This section examines ethical questions posed by thinking and practice in conflict resolution, international development, and peacebuilding by combining elements of the above-described courses. Together we will: • Identify, compare, and contrast distinctives and convergences among ethical issues, challenges and approaches in international development, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution ethics in application to case illustrations. • Practice ethical decision-making by analyzing case studies and by articulating and defending (verbally and in writing) decisions about issues in development, peacebuilding and conflict resolution. • Improve skills that bridge between academic and work-related skills (e.g. thinking critically, research, writing skills, information gathering and evaluation skills, collaboration, and communication).