Simulating Conflict Resolution

Catalog description

This course is only offered at Carnegie Mellon's campus in Qatar. This pass-fail, 3-credit course for the Qatar campus is designed to prepare students for a capstone event: an international conflict resolution exercise, to be held in the 2018 Spring semester, that simulates a current Middle Eastern crisis. The course will consist of two parts. First, students will meet weekly with an instructor for 1 hour/week to discuss the historical and modern Middle East, so that they will be prepared to participate meaningfully in the simulation. For these classes, students will be expected to complete and discuss readings prepared by the instructor. Secondly, students will participate in the simulation exercise in late spring, taking the role of one of the Middle Eastern actors (these will be decided ahead of time) and role-playing their nation's response to the specific crisis scenario. Finally, after the simulation, students will submit to the instructor a reflection paper on what they learned from participating in the event. Suggested pre- or co-req: Conflict Resolution (80-242 or 70-321 ).