The fourth Sudan Field Course took place in May 2007 in Rumbek, South Sudan. The teaching staff included Douglas Johnson, author of The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars, Suliman Baldo of the International Center for Transitional Justice, Jok Madut Jok, author of Race, Religion and Violence in Sudan, Hala Elkarib of the Khartoum-based SIHA (Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa), Khalid Medani of McGill University, Joanna Oyediran of UNMIS (the UN Mission in Sudan) and Gérard Prunier, author of Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide.

The Course was held in collaboration with Rumbek Senior Secondary School. Participants included international and Sudanese staff from UNMIS and other UN agencies, NGO personnel, academic researchers, and government officials from the UK, Norway and South Africa. There were guided field visits to the cattle market, to the remains of the Rumbek zariba (Pan Dit, a fortified settlement built by nineteenth-century slave-traders) and to a Dinka religious shrine north of the town. The final dinner of the course was attended by Mr Gordon Maker Abol, Lakes State Minister of Education, Science and Technology. The RVI basketball team lost for the third year running against Rumbek Town.