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Based on fieldwork and comparative historical analysis of Rwanda, this book questions the conventional wisdom that education builds peace.
List of contents
1. Moving education from the margins to the mainstream; 2. Colonial schooling; 3. Schooling under the Rwandan republics; 4. Schooling after genocide; 5. Education for peace building: Rwanda in comparative perspective; 6. Conclusion.
About the author
Elisabeth King is Associate Professor at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University. Her work focuses on conflict, peace building, and development in sub-Saharan Africa. King's work has appeared in such journals as African Studies Review, the Journal of Genocide Studies and Prevention, and the Journal of Development Effectiveness, as well as several edited volumes. King has conducted fieldwork in Croatia, India, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, and Tanzania. She has worked with NGOs and policy makers on the global land-mine crisis, education issues, and community-driven development. King uses a variety of research methods to examine how development and peace-building interventions really work (or not) for people in the global south.
Summary
This book nuances the belief that education builds peace by exploring the ways in which ordinary schooling can contribute to intergroup conflict. Unlike most books, which study only one part of Rwanda's history, this book covers Rwanda over three different periods (colonial, independence, post-genocide) and argues that in each period, education was conducive to intergroup conflict.
Report
'From Classrooms to Conflict in Rwanda argues that the content and format of education, not just its availability, really matter. Elisabeth King proposes that in each of Rwanda's three principal modern political epochs - colonial, republic, and post-genocide - education and schooling exacerbated differences and horizontal inequalities, fostered stigma, and nourished competition for resources. King's writing is clear and lively, her organization is solid, and her thesis is firmly delivered. [She] has a very sensitive and intuitive understanding of the complexities of Rwandan history and of Rwandan political life today. This book is a gem.' Mark A. Drumbl, Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of Law and Director, Transnational Law Institute, Washington and Lee University
