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Practices of Conflict Management and Peacebuilding 2 credits / 6 weeks weeks Professor Linda M. Johnston The course focuses on the development of practical and conceptual tools for the transformation of conflict from the macro- to the micro-level. Taking the perspective that all participants will be involved in both conflict and resolution of different sorts and in different capacities throughout their future professional lives, the aim of this course is to engage with these processes through various simulations, project development activities, and other activities. These situational learning exercises provide an opportunity for the practical development of ‘skills,’ but more importantly, of conceptual tools relating to negotiation, mediation, conflict analysis, program development, and peacebuilding. By creating situations and a classroom environment where students can put these concepts into use, the goal is to move from ideas to practices and back – that is, to close the dialectical loop between theory, research, and practice that is the necessary basis for reflective conflict transformation. The series of readings for the course are of two sorts: 1) guidelines and research on practice; and 2) in-depth essays that develop specific analytical concepts that deepen and enrich the understanding of practice. The course offers a chance to develop, synthesize, and reflect on ideas and skills learned throughout the year. It brings together material from various programs and courses in an active environment, and is a time for people to examine what those ideas mean for them as individuals in their future careers as peacemakers and builders.
Linda M. Johnston
Dr. Linda M. Johnston is the Executive Director of the Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics, and Character and a Professor at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Her research interests include sports-related violence, ethics, bullying, racial and ethnic conflict, health-related conflict, narrative and discourse theory, and world view theory. She is a trained mediator, negotiator, ombuds, and facilitator. She works both domestically and internationally. She has received grants from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Endowment for the Arts. She had a Fellowship to begin a dialogue between Egyptians and Americans. She has also done work in Ukraine, Republic of Georgia, Barbados, Nigeria, Egypt, Ecuador, Zambia, and in the U.S. Dr. Johnston is the President of the International Peace Research Association Foundation, serves on the Peace Research Grants Committee, and administers the Senesh Fellowship Program. She currently serves on the Nobel Peace Prize committee for the American Friends Service Committee, teaches at the UN School of Peace in Costa Rica, as well as the Dag Hammarskjöld Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies in Zambia. She served on the Board of Hands Along the Nile. Her new book “Sports, Peacebuilding, and Ethics” (2014) has just been published. |
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