KEMI 2EN14 - Toward Resolving Identity-Based Conflicts

Polarization is on the rise. Conflicts within societies, companies, NGOs and institutions are increasingly rooted in identity. It is urgent to address them to ensure peace and freedom for individuals and groups.

Since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, countless organizations have worked to resolve conflicts rooted in racial, ethnic, cultural, gender and sexual orientation identities, despite recent backlash. However, progress is hard to get and 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 experts 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, and explores how they can be adapted to develop methodologies rooted in local culture to help resolve identity-based conflicts in societies, companies, NGOs, institutions and communities.

RESOURCES MOBILIZED FOR THE COURSE:

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.

There is no academic prerequisite.

Students are expected to demonstrate motivation to address complex and emotionally loaded challenges with their colleagues.

• Address the personal and collective emotional challenges of dealing with identities, intercultural differences, racism and antisemitism;
• Understand racism and identity-based oppression as an ideological construct and how it has been operating in various historical and cultural contexts;
• Acquire the concepts and methodologies of Transitional Justice and be equipped with 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.

• Individual in-class participation 20%

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 50%

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 30%

Students prepare one individual or 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.

Class sessions: 12 hours per semester. Active participation is expected.

Readings are assigned before each session, and students are asked to respond to questions and to comment on their colleagues’ responses: up to 3 hours between sessions.

During each session, a student-led individual or group presentation takes place: 4 hours of preparatory work.

TEACHING STYLE:

The pedagogy is experiential, meaning that the dynamics within the class form part of the learning material.

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 critical experience on the specific topics studied. Their interventions are followed by questions & discussions.

Before each session, students respond to assigned questions and comment on some of their colleagues’ responses.

CLASS RULES: This is a no-computer, no-tablet, no-smartphone course. None of those are allowed in the classroom.

OFFICE HOURS: The Adjunct Professor will hold in-person 30-minute Office hours after each session. If it is not possible to meet then, other slots may be proposed.