Intergrp Conflict & Pce Bldg

Catalog description

In a world encumbered with conflict, tension, and injustice, strategies for building peace are essential. Students assess theories and principles of conflict and will investigate conflict in the many worlds in which they function and will get a chance to investigate their own attitudes towards it and responses to it. Course participants will use lenses including identity (gender, religion, nationality, etc.), human needs, narratives, power, culture, worldview, and others to understand conflict and propose possibilities for change. Good conflict analysis skills are a central component of designing effective strategies for transforming conflict and building peace. Students will explore the role of communication in managing interpersonal and organizational conflicts. Case studies of conflicts at multiple levels will provide content and an opportunity to practice analysis skills individually and in small groups, balancing theory and practice. Topics addressed include negotiation, mediation, nonviolent communication, and reconciliation, and will include further exploration of intergroup dynamics; principles and underlying philosophies of non-violence; and social science principles to understand conflict and promote peace. This course is only offered thru the MAP program.