OAFP 6270 - Toward Resolving Identity-Based Conflicts

The killing of George Floyd in May 2020 was a high point in the global awareness on racism and identity-based oppression. Since the massive protests that took place in the US and many countries around the world, a global reckoning has been taking place. Countless companies, institutions, NGOs, foundations, communities and societies have strongly committed to identify challenges and resolve conflicts rooted in racial, ethnic and cultural identities, which are increasingly surfacing across sectors. However, progress is slow to come. It should come as no surprise as there is no quick fix nor ready-to-be-used toolbox that would have been acquired by previously-trained practitioners to provide short-term results. Moreover, methodologies to tackle racism and identity-based oppression are often primarily examined in national contexts, while their international nature requires a larger global approach to fully address them. At the same time, sources of inspiration for success have often been overlooked. Around the world, various resilient post-conflict local communities have managed to make progress and resolve identity-based conflicts. Since the 1990s, the actions that allow societies to transition from conflict, dictatorship and genocide to peaceful coexistence and democracy have been studied and conceptualized as Transitional Justice. Building on the experiences of these communities and on the theories and practices of Transitional Justice, this course introduces innovative tools and frameworks to resolve identity-based conflicts in companies, institutions, NGOs, communities and societies. Through the study of successful cases around the world, it explores how each element of Transitional Justice processes can be adapted to build methodologies rooted in local cultures and help organizations and societies resolve identity-based conflicts. Learning Objectives, skills acquired:  Acquire the concepts and methodologies of Transitional Justice and be equipped with intercultural and inter-identity conflict resolution tools.  Get to know successful cases of resolution of identity-based conflicts from resilient local post-conflict communities from around the world.  Develop an ability to innovate and invent processes to help organizations make progress on and resolve identity-based conflicts. The course schedule is organized in 3 sections: the first two sections take place during the first half of the semester (sessions 1 to 5), the third section takes place during the second half of the semester (sessions 6 to 12). The plan of the course is detailed in the section “Course Syllabus” below. Summary of the course: I. “What do we speak of when we speak of racism and identities?” (Sessions 1 to 3) 1. Diversity of definitions and origins. 2. Typologies of group dynamics and of mechanisms of oppression. 3. “Justifications” to racism and identity-based oppression. II. “Expressions of racism and identity-based oppression” (Sessions 4 to 5) 4. Globalization of racism and identity-based oppression. 5. Realizations of oppression, to the extreme: enslavement, colonization, and genocide. III. “Toward resolving conflicts” (Sessions 6 to 12) 6. Introduction to Transitional Justice. 7. Dealing with the past. 8. Building coalitions and including all stakeholders. 9. Justice and reparations. 10. Policy change. 11. Collective final presentations, 1/2. 12. Collective final presentations, 2/2. Throughout the course, students build their capacity to address the strong and moving emotional dimensions related to identity-based conflicts. They ensure that these emotional dimensions do not prevent conflict resolution and are rather used as a resource to make progress.

Benjamin ABTAN

Enseignement électif

English

Class sessions: 2 hours per session / 24 hours per semester. Active participation is expected during the sessions. Readings are assigned before each session, and students are asked to respond to questions and to comment on their colleagues' responses: 3 hours in total between sessions. During each session, a group presentation by students takes place: 4 hours of preparatory work for a presentation. For the development of the final paper and the preparation of the presentation on how to help an organization resolve its identity-based conflicts, 8 hours of work per group member are expected.

There is no academic prerequisite. Students are expected to demonstrate motivation to address complex and emotionally loaded challenges with their colleagues.

Spring 2022-2023

* Individual in-class participation: 10% This grading reflects the students' understanding of in-class learnings, their personal research, the quality of their interventions, how active they are, and the support they bring to the other students for their learning. * Individual reading responses: 25% Before each session, students answer 3 questions relating to the assigned readings, in 250 to 400 words each, and comment on at least one response by their colleagues, in 150 to 250 words each. Following each session, students share their personal reflections about their personal journey, in 250 to 400 words. They may share these reflections with the other students or with the Adjunct Professor only. * Individual or group class presentations: 25% Students prepare one group presentation during the semester, on an assigned topic or following their proposal. This grading reflects the clarity of the presentations, the quality of the research conducted, the understanding of the concepts at play, and the quality of the contribution to the learning of the other students. * Group final paper and presentation: 40% As final assignment, students develop a plan with recommendations to resolve the identity-based conflicts that an organization faces. They start working on it starting session 4. Groups present their plan and recommendations during the two final sessions of the course, and share a final paper with the Adjunct Professor. For each organization, students:  Provide a description and an analysis of the identity-based conflict(s) at play.  Propose a process to help the organization resolve this conflict / these conflicts.  Explain the rationale behind their choices to mobilize the tools they propose to use.  Propose a timeline for the process.  Include a process to mitigate risks and to evaluate the results of their action. The length of the final paper is between 2,000 and 3,000 words.

Each class session is divided between collective discussions relating to the readings assigned, presentations conducted by students, and group exercises that address the notions examined during the session. Some sessions also include guest speakers with a critical experience on the specific topics studied. Their interventions are followed by questions & debates. Before each session, students respond to assigned questions and comment on some of their colleagues' responses. The two final sessions are dedicated to the group presentations of the plans and recommendations developed by students to help an organization resolve its identity-based conflicts. Adopting a comparative approach, the course proposes materials and examples of successful resolution of identity-based conflicts coming from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Americas. It mobilizes diverse academic fields: political sciences, history, genocide studies, psychology, sociology, literature, music, poetry and cinema.