LAUSR

Teaching and learning about war is inherently difficult. Both students and teachers experience varying levels of frustration and unease when confronted with accounts of violence and death. Yet most teachers in International Relations (IR), Peace or War Studies, and related fields would agree that learning about the “realities of war” is important for many reasons. We want our students to discuss and reflect on the nature of violence, on moral issues of right and wrong, the effects of war on societies and individuals, on the possibilities of preventing or ending wars and, more broadly, on issues of truth and justice. The challenge, of course, is to design learning activities that engage and activate students while at the same time making room for discussions about the emotional aspects of studying war and violence. In early 2013, we were pondering these issues, seeking to devise new teaching and learning activities on the realities of war for students in the undergraduate IR program at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg. Howwould we go about introducing this important but challenging topic to students at an early stage of the program?How could we inspire critical discussion and reflection while, at the same time, training them as analysts?