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A report from the student participants in the Winter Field Study course in Jordan on their experience examining the origins and social impact of the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan.
Join the student participants in the Winter Field Study Course in Jordan for a report of their experience examining the origins and social impact of the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan.
From January 5-23, 15 students from Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy participated in this experiential field-based course in Amman, Jordan. Read more about the course, including student reflections, by clicking here.
About the Course:
The purpose of the Winter Field Study Course in the Middle East is to bring graduate students to examine strategic approaches for navigating the long-term challenges and dilemmas of some of the most complex political and humanitarian issues. The course approaches these case studies as a means to furthering professional dialogue on complex issues, building exchanges between Harvard University graduate students and practitioners in the region, and shedding light on the challenges of engaging in key dilemmas in the context of humanitarian action. Such contexts represent an extremely interesting and sophisticated political, social, legal, and policy environment for graduate students to explore and analyze the various agendas and situational factors through interdisciplinary, scientific lenses.
Following successful Winter Field Study Courses examining timely humanitarian issues in the West Bank, Nepal, Indonesia, Lebanon, Europe, India, and Amman, the project will continue its focus over the coming years in the Middle East, in partnership with the Middle East Initiative. The 2015 course reviewed issues surrounding the public policy challenges associated to the inflow of the Syrian refugee population in Jordan. In discussing options for operationalizing international humanitarian responses, the course considered the synergies between public health, emergency humanitarian assistance, refugee and displacement issues, urban conflict, human rights, and other relevant domains of interest. The case was considered in terms of its epidemiological profile, and examined local and regional response mechanisms, and the role of civil society, international cooperation, and governance.
