Students will write a critical paper that considers the role of culture in conflict (3-5 pages). Choose from the three options below for your paper. Post your critical writing assignment in Applying a Cultural Lens to Conflict Submissions.
Due date: Sunday of Week 12.
Details for Assignment IV:
Choose between the following three options for your critical writing assignment:
Revisit a critical incident or conflict where your own subject positions were significant for the conflict (such as gender, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, nationality). Briefly describe the conflict, and discuss how culture was a difference that mattered. Relying on the readings to support your discussion, consider how your complex attention to culture impacts your interpretation and response to that conflict.
Based on your writing so far for this course, write a brief synthesis of how culture is evident (or submerged). You can utilize your writing from your individual blog, forum discussions, and/or papers. You will want to highlight your learning, dilemmas, and questions that you have engaged in your writing, particularly how the role of culture is significant. While you should explicitly refer to your own writing you have already posted, you are of course welcome to extend the insights you find there. You might consider writing a collaborative synthesis with another student for option two.
Based on an audio interview of a specific conflict practitioner, consider how the practitioner youve chosen understands and engages the cultural dimensions of conflict. You should rely on specific language and examples from the interview to inform your critical assessment. Each interview has an audio file and transcription of the interview. See further details about option 3 below.
More details for Option 3 (audio interviews):
If you choose option 3, you are welcome to choose any interview found in the extensive list of expert interviews from the Beyond Intractability website, accessed here (Links to an external site.). (Links to an external site.)
Recommended interviews of influential practitioners who have a particularly rich attention to culture are listed below. You can review the topics they discuss and review the summary of the interview by following the link provided.
Mohammed Abu-Nimer (American University), access interview here (Links to an external site.).
Topics: Middle East, peacebuilding, interfaith dialogue, stereotypes, transformation
Kevin Avruch (Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University), access interview here (Links to an external site.).
Topics: conflict resolution strategies, culture, conflict analysis and resolution
Sarah Cobb (Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University), access interview here (Links to an external site.).
Topics: narratives and stories, values, neutrality
Jayne Docherty (Eastern Mennonite University), access interview here (Links to an external site.).
(Links to an external site.)Topics: cultural and worldview frames, rationality, complexity, trust building
Roberto Chene (private consultant in intercultural leadership training, University of New Mexico), access interview here (Links to an external site.).
(Links to an external site.)Topics: Intractable conflicts, diversity, intercultural leadership training
Note: the transcript is not available for this interview.
Deborah Kolb (Co-Director of Program on Negotiations in the Workplace, Harvard University), access interview here (Links to an external site.).
(Links to an external site.)Topics: development, gender and conflict, social structural changes
References:
Burgess, G. & Burgess, H. (Eds.). (2003-2010). Knowledge based interviews. Boulder, CO: Beyond Intractability Project (Version IV), University of Colorado. Retrieved from https://www.beyondintractability.org/resources/audio.jsp?nid=5065 (Links to an external site.)
