Conflict Management and Mediation

Family In Distress

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

You have engaged in conflicts since you were a toddler and have undoubtedly continued to encounter conflict throughout your life with strangers, friends,family,romantic partners,coworkers,merchants,and more.This course is designed to provide you with a deeper understanding of conflict, drawing from diverse disciplines including communication, psychology, politics, and business. We will focus on understanding and analyzing the layered sources and causes of conflict, the impact of power, personal styles, and perception, and the processes through which conflict can be managed and resolved.

An important part of this course will involve turning our classroom into a conflict skills workshop. Activities, discussion groups, and simulations will provide opportunity to reflect, hone, and develop conflict management skills. Since everyone is already entering this classroom with experience in facing conflict, the goal of these workshops is to create a safe space to think differently, try out new skills and approaches, and overcome barriers that may have challenged your ability to constructively engage in conflict situations in the past.

It is important that class time become an environment for open and honest reflection. I encourage you to use your own personal experience as a part of our discussions and be sensitive to the perspectives and experiences of others. This critical self-¬ reflection is very valuable in making each of us better at handling conflicts.

Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course a student will be able to:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the history of conflict resolution, mediation, negotiation, and cultures;
  • Demonstrate basic mediation and negotiation skills, techniques and styles;
  • Demonstrate effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills including listening and keen perception;
  • Identify and discuss ethical issues in negotiation techniques and strategies;
  • Identify mediation and negotiation opportunities and design appropriate strategies for their effective pursuit;
  • Evaluate and critique the reasoning and skill of others in a mature, thoughtful and respectful manner;
  • Improve your skills in Effectiveness of Mediation; Conditions for Effective Mediation; Factors Determining Use of Mediation; and Mediator Behavior in the face of conflict;
  • Conduct a conflict analysis of Communication Skills; Creating a Supportive Environment for Reflective Thinking—Caucus Zone; and Legal Ethical Issues.