Workshop: Teaching Conflict Resolution in a Fragmented Society

This workshop focuses on the challenge of teaching conflict resolution in a society composed of groups with clashing, deeply held identities that cross religious, ethnic, political and social lines. The difficulty is exacerbated by doing this in an interdisciplinary program at a university that is focused on and geared to programs in particular disciplines. Furthermore, we attempt to combine theoretical knowledge with hands-on training and experience. In this workshop, four of our lecturers discuss the challenges we face and the programs we have developed to create an academic framework that has applications to the real world on micro and macro social levels. Our Goal: To exchange information and seek cooperation with programs that aim to combine theory and practice in an academic setting. The nature of the issues we discuss are prevalent in many societies and universities. Through an open exchange, we feel that many of our programs can be improved by sharing our experiences.