Overview

This course deals with interpersonal conflicts, causes, coping strategies and conflict resolution from a social psychological point of view.

Objectives

The objectives of this course are:

1. Getting insight in potential causes of interpersonal conflicts.
2. Getting insight in conflicts in organizations and assessing the contributing factors.
3. Analyzing conflicts and being able to present possible solutions.

Content part one
The first part of the course will deal with potential causes of interpersonal conflicts, with attraction and relationships, with the development of social attachments. Attitude formation and behavior will be studied in order to better understand the influence of group membership as well as processes of social influence: Conformity, Compliance and Obedience. Furthermore, hostile intergroup behavior such as Prejudice, Stereotypes, Discrimination and Aggression will be discussed together with the common thread of humanity as Altruism and other forms of Prosocial behavior. Concepts of Morality and Competition, Justice and Cooperation will also be elaborated.

Content part two
The second part of the course will pay attention to interpersonal conflicts directly, looking at potential causes, coping strategies and perspectives on conflict resolution in organizations. Relationships and conflicts at work and organizational power will be discussed in in view of politics and gender factors. Culture conflicts in a cross-cultural perspective will also be discussed alongside conceptions of fairness and reconciliation.

This course is based on the book “A Theory of Conflict” by Prof. Galtung, TRANSCEND University Press, 2010 which will be freely available to participants. It is also assumed that the course participants know some of the pertinent freely available material on transcend.org/galtung.

Further, the elementary book by the same author, Transcend & Transform, London-Boulder CO: Pluto, Paradigm 2003, should be read.

Topics:

1. Concepts, definitions
2. Simple actor conflicts
3. Complex actor conflicts
4. Structural conflicts
5. Conflict across spaces
6. Conclusion

Assignments during the course will be: four individual essays, and four collective essays; all with responses from the course director. All essays and all responses will be communicated to all participants for collective learning.

Goal: to acquire a creative, constructive and concrete idea of conflict and its transformation, through the book and complex, real life, exercises. At the same time to have the conflict of one’s own choice discussed with the participants and the course director.

Overview:

The course, which spans 6 weekends, covering a total of 12 weeks, will give an insight into the method of conflict transformation (including conflict theory, conflict analysis & peace theory). In order to develop a more multilateral approach to interactive learning, the course, directed by Prof. Johan Galtung, is organized into modules with the contribution of other experts through six Skype sessions, involving when possible, also parties to the conflicts.Interaction is an integral part of the online course. Participants are expected to work together through a chat room provided as facility by TPU and the Galtung –Institut online platform, and are expected to deliver 6 collective essays (of maximum 10 pages, Font: Times new Roman size 10), on the six cases listed below:

1. ISLAM AND THE WEST: from violence to cooperation ?
2. AFRICA: searching for futures beyond decolonization?
3. The AMERICAS: A declaration of Independence and more North – South cooperation
4. The ASIAS: Japan, China, Korea: toward an East Asian community?
5. The EUROPES: GIPSI (Greece-Italy- Portugal-Spain-Ireland) vs. Germany-EU. The decline of Europe?
6. The MIDDLE EAST and WEST ASIA: “IS” – Turkey-Israel/Palestine-Iran-Afghanistan: Paths towards Nonviolent Diplomatic Solutions?

General rule:

Study course material will be made available on Tuesdays in order to be discussed and developed during the next Skype session. At the end of that, participants will get a collective assignment on which they will work together for the following week. Written collective essays are expected on Tuesdays (eleven days later), whilst responses and comments by Prof. Galtung are issued within 72 hours. Everything distributed to all participants for collective learning. Due to the nature of the course, deadlines must be respected. No waiting for late-comers.

Please notice: the Skype sessions will last 1 (one) hour (with some flexibility) and will be organized according to the time zone of participants and course instructors. They are meant as a Question/Answers session based on the reading material. Studying it is essential!

Study Material:

The course is based on Johan Galtung’s books:

• 50 Years 100 Peace and  Conflict Perspectives, Transcend University Press
  FREELY AVAILABLE TO PARTICIPANTS

• The Fall of the US Empire and then What, Transcend University Press
  available for half price (check our price list here): 10 € instead of 20 € including postage

Participants will also receive additional reading-material, assignments and comments from the other experts involved during the 12 weeks of the course.

Objectives:

By the end of the course participants should:

• recognize socio-dynamic contradictions and assess the importance of their dialectics for the diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of conflict formations. At the core of this solution oriented course on conflict transformation, concepts of violence, peace and equity will be studied at the meso (between and within groups), macro (between and within States and Nations) and mega level (between and within Civilizations).
• be able to use these concepts to evaluate the capacity of the various approaches of peace-building, peace-keeping and peace-making to solve conflicts nonviolently.
• own methods and heuristic tools which will allow them to improve their professional competencies in the field and enhance their skill-sets as conflict transformation specialists.

The course provides the necessary toolkit for analyzing conflicts and investigating pathways to solutions,  through the lens of nonviolence, empathy and creativity.