The History of International Humanitarian Assistance
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Class Announcements GREETINGS FROM CHINA!
Note: The midterm exam will be on October 27 at 6:00 p.m. A full list of study questions are available HERE. The exam questions will be taken from this list. If you have any trouble downloading the questions, contact the guest instructor, Suzann Lupton : slupton@iupui.edu. Click here for information about the lecutre by Bob Scott of the Rotary International PolioPlus program on Nov. 3 at 3:30 p.m in University Library auditorium. He will meet with our class at 5:30 that day. Note that for a number of the classes students are encouraged to make arrangements so as to arrive by 5:30 , as there will be some additional opportunities to meet guests and discuss some films. If you have a conflict, however, it will not affect grades since this material will not be tested. Click here for the current list of guests. The syllabus was last revised October 21, 2008. Check at least once a week during class to make sure of revisions, which will also be announced in class. If there are any questions between classes, contact the instructor at whschnei@iupui.edu. [We will not use Oncourse email.] |
The subject of humanitarian assistance is of great current interest, but its history has been relatively neglected. The goal of this course will, therefore, be to examine the main elements of this history, as well as its usefulness in understanding current developments.
This course will examine the history of international humanitarian assistance during the 19th and 20th centuries. Its focus in on the movements and activities that developed in wealthier countries (Europe and the U.S.) during this period which attempted to help those in other lands in need of assistance (e.g., food, shelter, medical care). These needs arose from a variety of causes, both natural and man-made, such as famine, flood, epidemics, earthquakes and volcanoes as well as wars and government oppression. The responses took many forms, governmental and non-governmental, in a world that underwent very dramatic changes during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Reading Requirements
Required books:
Akira Iriye. Global Community: The Role of International Organizations in the Making of the Contemporary World (Berkeley: U. of California Pr., 2002) 246 pp. $16.95 ISBN: 0520231287 Copies are available in the bookstore.
Additional articles and excerpts from other books will be available on the web, through University Library course reserves, or handed out in class. For electronic library course reserves, students will need to log on to course reserves with their University ID and password. It may be necessary to search for the reserves under the name of the instructor (Schneider) or title of the course (H425). If asked for the course password it is: H425. For simplicity, the readings are only listed with the undergraduate number.
Additional readings are available on the web as indicated below. If you have any difficulties obtaining them, contact the instructor.
Recommended book (in bookstore):
J. Michael Allen and James B. Allen, HarperCollins College Outline World History From 1500 (New York: Harper Collins, 1993) 480pp; $17.95 ISBN10: 0064671380 Copies are available in the bookstore.
This is recommended for anyone who has not had the Western Civ or World Civ survey recently, or who does not have an old text available. Some readings are suggested below, but this text is meant to serve generally as a reference for background history of the world since 1800.
Other Recommended books:
Caroline Moorehead, Dunant's Dream: War, Switzerland and the History of the Red Cross (Carroll & Graf Pub,1998) Used copies are readily available online . It will be useful not only for understanding the history of the best known international humanitarian NGO but also in providing a chronology of worldwide disasters and relief in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Selected readings (for graduate students) are listed for appropriate classes.
Merle Curti, American Philanthropy Abroad (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1988) 656pp ISBN: 088738711X. Despite being originally published in 1964, this book remains the best survey of the history of humanitarian assistance in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. It is available new for $55, but there are a limited number of used copies on the web for $15 or less.
Lawrence J. Friedman and Mark D. McGarvie, eds., Charity, Philanthropy, and Civility in American History (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004), $22.99 ISBN: 0521603536 Only a few chapters are directly relevant to the international setting, but this is a standard work on the history of American philanthropy.
Gilbert Rist, The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith (Zed Books, 2002, $34) An excellent book on the history of a related topic: development assistance
De Waal, Alex, Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa. (Indiana University Press,1998, $21) One of the best critiques of humanitarian assistance with a decent historical perspective
Other resources online
PubMed: Useful for articles on the history of epidemics and health relief, as well as famine and other disasters. This site provides access to Index Medicus, the bibliography of journal articles, including many on the History of Medicine, maintained by the National Library of Medicine. This is a good source of articles published on the history of medicine since 1964, but not all inclusive. Click here to try the on-line version of Index Catalog of medical publications before 1964. It requires some practice, so contact the instructor for help, if necessary.
Historical Abstracts/American History and Life : The most complete databases of articles on history in general, requires your IUPUI userid and password.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2001) The full text of the New York Times, searchable by key words, dates, etc. [Note: requires login with student ID and Password]
The London Times, 1785-1985 Full text and searchable online database of the London Times. [Note: requires login with student ID and Password]
Readers Guide Retrospective On-line version of the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature: an index of articles appearing in 371 popular American magazines and other periodicals [available through University Library electronic databases, be sure to select "Readers Guide Retro."]
Emergency Events Database- EM-DAT. EM-DAT
EMDAT contains essential core data on the occurrence and effects of over 12,800 mass disasters in the world from 1900 to present. The database is compiled from various sources, including UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, insurance companies, research institutes and press agencies.
Global and regional warfare and governance trends graphs, recently updated through 2007
Academic Search Premier (available through University Library Electronic Databases, if link does not work)
Course Requirements
Undergraduate
Short paper, 3-5 pp. (20%) [Click here for details]
Midterm exam (35%)
Analytical paper, 8-10pp. (25%) [Click here for details]
Take-home final essay (15%)
Class Grade (5%)
Graduate
Short paper, 5 pp. (20%) [Click here for details]
Midterm exam (30%)
Research paper, 20-25pp. (45%) [Click here for details]
Class Grade (5%)
Be sure you understand the school's policy on plagiarism (cheating). Those guilty of it will be dealt with in accordance with the regulations spelled out in the Student Code of Conduct available at http://life.iupui.edu/dos/code.htm.
To contact the instructor outside of class:
OFFICE HOURS: CA-406, or by appointment
Phone: 274-7220; E-Mail: whschnei@iupui.edu [We will not use Oncourse email]
Topics and Reading Assignments
[**Note: Dates and assignments are subject to change. You will
be notified in class of any changes.]
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Aug 25 |
Introduction; Definitions, current questions |
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In addition to going over requirements for the course, this class will plunge us into the flood of material available about humanitarianism. It can be overwhelming and confusing, but the purpose is to engage everyone with the subject and sort out some of the main contemporary issues. In the process we will seek some common understanding of terms, an appreciation of the importance of historical understanding (or lack thereof), and begin to develop an overview of the history (periods, main developments, and actors). Overview of the History of International Humanitarian Assistance
Recommended: read one or two of the following short articles as examples of the contemporary discussion:
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Sep 1 |
Labor Day (no class) | |
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Sep 8 |
The Roots and Philosophical Origins of Modern humanitarianism | |
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Guest: Dr. Ellen Einterz (Click here for more information about guest) This class will examine the underlying changes during the Enlightenment in the 18th century that led to a different perspective on the world including a new humanitarian view. Two case studies from the late 18th and early 19th century will be examined to illustrate these changes: the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the slave trade abolition movement that began in England at the end of the 18th century. The following will set the scene for the beginning of modern humanitarianism: Maurice Parmelee, “The Rise of Modern Humanitarianism,” The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 21, No. 3. (Nov., 1915), pp. 345-359 (available through University Library online journals) An older, almost quaint but still relevant view. Thomas L. Haskell, “Capitalism and the Origins of Humanitarian Sensibility,” American Historical Review, 90 (1985), 339-61; 547-66 (available through University Library online journals)
The following illustrate two cases of humanitarianism at the end of the 18th century: C. R. Boxer, "Some Contemporary Reactions to the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755," Revista da faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, 22 (1956), 5-21 (available at University Library course reserves)
Jerome Reich, “The Slave Trade at the Congress Of Vienna - A Study in English Public Opinion,” Journal of Negro History 1968 53(2): 129-143. (available through University Library online journals)
Recommended:
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Sep 15 |
Background: Humanitarianism without institutions, 1815-1856: Irish famine relief and health auxiliaries in the Crimean War |
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This class will examine two events in the first half of the 19th century that elicited humanitarian assitance: the Irish famine and the Crimean War. Both occurred before the establishment of formal international institutions. Harvey Strum, “South Carolina and Irish Famine Relief, 1846-47,” South Carolina Historical Magazine 2002 103(2): 130-152 (available at University Library course reserves)
John Shelton Curtiss, ‘Russian Sisters of Mercy in the Crimea, 1854-1855’, Slavic Review, vol. 25, no. 1 (Mar., 1966), pgs. 84-100 (available at University Library course reserves) Helen Rappaport, "The Invitation that Never Came: Mary Seacole after the Crimea,", History Today, 55 (2005), 9-15. (Click here)
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Sep 22 |
The Rise of the Red Cross | |
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Guest: Prof. Susanne Klausen (Click here for more information about guest) The Red Cross is the best known organization in the modern era providing humanitarian assistance around the world. It has usually enjoyed an image of benificence, duly promoted by its own publications. In the last 30 years, however, it has come under closer scrutiny and criticism, beginning with its relations with the Nazis during the Second World War and its role in the Nigerian Civil War. Historians have also reexamined its origins, and this class will look at two views of the beginnings of the Red Cross. Background video: "Henry Dunant: Du Rouge sur la Croix" (2005) Exceprts from the video will show the romanticized "official" version of Red Cross history. On the first 50 years of the Red Cross, see the following at the websiteof the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC):
John F. Hutchinson, “Rethinking the origins of the Red Cross,” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 1989 Winter;63(4):557-78 (available at University Library course reserves) A view that challenges the "official" Red Cross history |
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Sep 29 |
Examples of International Assistance, 1860-1914 | |
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Guest: Leslie Cunningham, Ambassadors for Children (Click here for more information about guest) Paper due: response to disaster at end of 19th century. [Click here for details.] Read both articles below and then pick one of the two following topics and write a paper comparing our current understanding (based on historical scholarship) and reporting at the time in the newspaper press (London Times and New York Times) George S. Queen, "American Relief in the Russian Famine of 1891-1892," Russian Review, 14 (No. 2, Apr., 1955), 140-150
John Evangelist Walsh, “Forgotten Angel: The Story of Janet Jennings and the Seneca,” Wisconsin Magazine of History, Summer 1989, pp 267-293 (click here)
Recommended:
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Oct 6 |
Natural disasters, 1860-1914: famine, plague and colonial rule |
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Guest: Dr. Mercy Obeime (Click here for more information about guest) This class examines some broader influences on humanitarian assistance by the end of the 19th century: colonial rule and the growth in international organizations. F. S. L. Lyons, "Part IV: The Humanitarian Impulse," Internationalism in Europe, 1815-1914 (Sythoff-Leyden: A. W. Sythoff, 1963), pp 263-307 (available at University Library course reserves) Gilbert Rist, The History of Development (Zed Books, 2002), Chapter 3, "The Making of the World System," 47-68 Two cases of responses in the colonial setting: famine and leprosy Passmore, R. “Famine in India: an Historical Survey.” Lancet, Vol.2, issue 7 (18 August 1951) : 303-7 (available at University Library course reserves) David Hall-Matthews,”Historical Roots of relief Paradigms,” Disasters, 20 (1996), 216-30 (available at University Library course reserves) MichaelWorboys, "The Colonial World as Mission and Mandate: Leprosy and Empire, 1900-1940," Osiris 2000 15: 207-218 (available through University Library online journals) Recommended:
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Oct 13 |
Humanitarian Assistance during the First World War | |
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The scale of disaster relief during the First World War was unprecedented, but unfortunately foreshadowed what was to come. Class readings show the strains and change experienced by the Red Cross and examples of humanitarian assistance in the U.S., Britain and France. Guest instructor: Suzann Lupton Nash, George H., “"An American Epic": Herbert Hoover and Belgian Relief in World War I,” Prologue 1989 21(1): 75-86 (available at University Library course reserves) Stibbe, Matthew, “The Internment of Civilians by Belligerent States During the First World War and the Response of the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Journal of Contemporary History, 2006 41(1): 5-19 (available through University Library online journals) Donner, Henriette, “Under the Cross - Why V.A.D.S Performed the Filthiest Task in the Dirtiest War: Red Cross Women Volunteers, 1914-1918,” Journal of Social History 1997 30(3): 687-704 (available through University Library online journals) Price, Alan, “Edith Wharton at War with the American Red Cross: The End of Noblesse Oblige,” Women's Studies, 1991 20(2): 121-131 (available through University Library online journals) Recommended: Click here for pictures of humanitarian assistance during WWI |
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Oct 20 |
Postwar Relief and Reorganization |
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The end of the First World War brought some changes in the Red cross organization, but otherwise continuing need for humanitarian relief, with Americans increasingly prominent, as seen in these examples from the 1920s. Guest instructor: Suzann Lupton Iriye, "Origins of Global Community," 9-36 The International Red Cross: New Geneva Conventions
Edmondson CM. “The politics of hunger: the Soviet response to famine,” 51: Soviet Studies.1977; 29(4): 506-18. (available through University Library online journals) Marcus Cueto, “Sanitation from Above: Yellow Fever and Foreign Intervention in Peru, 1919-1922,” Hispanic-American Historical Review, 72 (Feb. 1992), 1-22 (available at University Library course reserves) Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders, Earthquakes in Human History (Princeton University Press, 2005), "Japan's Great Kanto Earthquake: 'Hell Let Loose on Earth,'" pp. 170-93; 265-66 (available at University Library course reserves) Earthquake in Japan, 1923 New York Times articles. (browse through articles between September 2 13, 1923) (available through University Library online journals)
Recommended:
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Nov 27 |
Exam | |
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Following the exam, there will be an overview of the period covered by the remaining classes. (no additional reading). |
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Nov 3 |
The Interwar Period, 1919-1939 | |
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Guest: Bob Scott This class will examine humanitarian efforts which responded to increasing warfare in the 1930s in Ethiopia, Spain and China. Red Ross, "Black Americans and the Italo-Ethiopian Relief, 1935-1936," Ethiopia Observer, 15 (1972), 122-31 (available at University Library course reserves) Edward M Spiers, “The Geneva Protocol: Tested and Found Wanting,” Journal of strategic studies, 1985 8(3): 327-338 (available at University Library course reserves) Farah J. Mendlesohn, “The Ethics of Friends' Relief Work in Republican Spain,” Quaker History, 8 (1999), 1-23 (available at University Library course reserves)
T. Christopher Jespersen, "'Spreading the American Dream' of China: United China Relief, the Luce Family, and the Creation of American Conceptions of China before Pearl Harbor," Journal of American-East Asian Relations, 1 (1992), 269-94 (available at University Library course reserves) Recommended:
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Nov 10 |
World War II and the aftermath | |
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Another world war brought new challenges to relief efforts, and the creation of new organizations that remade humanitarian assistance in the postwar period. Background video: "Varian's War"(2001) Note excerpts from the video will start at 5:30, before the scheduled starting time. Students are urged to come early to take advantage of this opportunity. Iriye, "New Internationalism," " 37-59 Donald Carroll, "Escape from Vichy," American Heritage, 34 (1983), 82-93 (available at University Library course reserves) Compare this to the article on China and Luce. Jean-Claude Favez, The Red Cross and the Holocaust (1999), "Introduction,", 1-10 (available at University Library course reserves) The International Red cross
Maggie Black, A Cause for Our Times: Oxfam (1992), Ch 2 "Winning the Peace: The Moral Aftermath of War,", pp, 22-40 (available at University Library course reserves) Wallace J. Campbell, The History of CARE: A personal Account (Praeger, 1990), Chapter 2 “In the Beginning, 1945-46,” 5-18 (available at University Library course reserves) Recommended:
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Nov 17
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Post-1945: Development and optimism | |
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The postwar era brought relief, fear of the Cold War, and some reason for optimism. This class sets the scene after 1945 and examines two of the highest profile susccess stories: the eradication of smallpox and he "green revolution." Iriye, "Beyond the Cold War," and "More States, More nonstate Actors," 60-125 "Inaugural Address of Harry S. Truman," January 20, 1949
D.A. Henderson, "The eradication of smallpox," Scientific American Oct. 1976; 235(4):25-33 (available at University Library course reserves) Nick Cullather, "Miracles of Modernization: The Green Revolution and the Apotheosis of Technology," Diplomatic History, 28:2 (Apr 2004) Vol. 28, 227-254 (available at University Library course reserves) Recommended:
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Nov 24 |
New organizations and new disasters in the 1980s: the beginning of disillusionment | |
| The 1980s saw a new generation of international humanitarian NGOs but mixed success in respondsing to such challenges as famine.
Iriye, "The Growth of Civil Society," 126-56 Rene Fox, “Medical humanitarianism and human rights: reflections on doctors without borders and doctors of the world,” Social Science and Medicine. 1995 Dec; 41(12):1607-16 (available through University Library online journals) Alan Whaites, “Pursuing partnership: World Vision and the ideology of development--a case study,” Development-in-Practice. 9 (4) (1999), 410-23 (available through University Library online journals) Amartya Sen, "Famines," World Developmemt, 8 (1980), 613-621 (available at University Library course reserves) De Waal, Alex, Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa. (Indiana University Press,1998), Chap 4 "Retreat from Accountability: The Humanitarian International," 65-85 (available at University Library course reserves) |
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Dec 1 |
The new world of humanitarianism, 1990s -> present | |
| Guest, Paul Park (Click here for more information about guest)
The 1990s appears to have launched a new era in humanitarian assistance, in response to new challenges of warfare, the global AIDS epidemic, and development. Iriye, "Towards Global Community," 157-93 Mark Cutts, "The humanitarian operation in Bosnia, 1992-95: the dilemmas of negotiating humanitarian access," New Issues in Refugee Research, Working Paper No. 8 (Geneva: UNHCR, 1999) (Click here) Birn, AE. Gates’ grandest challenge: transcending technology as public health ideology The Lancet (published online March 11, 2005: http://image.thelancet.com/extra/04art6429web.pdf The Sachs- Easterly debate: mutual reviews of books by the leading American theorists on world poverty and development:
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Dec 8 |
Undergraduate research paper due [Click here for details.] | |
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Discussion of undergraduate and graduate research papers
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Dec 15 |
Final take-home essay question due; graduate research papers due. | |