CONRES 627 - Inter-Group Dialogue & Facilitation

6 Credit(s) | |
Description:
This course will critically examine the role of dialogue as a conflict intervention practice, with an emphasis on inter-group dialogue. At a theoretical and conceptual level, the course will focus on exploring the goals of dialogue processes and their potential for enabling understanding between individuals from multiple identity groups. The course will place a particular emphasis on comparing different approaches to or models of dialogue, and on considering the many factors that must be considered when designing and planning a dialogue process. At a practical level, this course will focus on preparing students to facilitate, and provide opportunities for facilitation, cross-cultural dialogue. Through a partnership with Soliya (www.soliya.net), students in this class will participate in Soliya’s Facilitation Training & Practicum (FTP). Participating in the FTP will be required of all students and will occur concurrently with the course, allowing for in-class reflection of FTP experiences and integration of the hands-on component of the FTP with the theoretical content of the course. The FTP will include 2 components: first, students will complete a 20-hour, intensive facilitation training (4 hours/week for 5 weeks). Once the training is complete, students will also have the opportunity to co-facilitate, with supervision from Soliya staff, 8 weeks of Soliya’s “Connect Program” (2 hours/week), the organization’s flagship virtual exchange initiative. Both the training and practicum will take place online using Soliya’s virtual dialogue platform. Soliya runs multiple training and dialogue groups, meaning that it is possible to work with the organization to find a time slot for both the training and practicum that best meets your scheduling needs. Students in the course will not necessarily be in the same training group and for the most part should not expect to facilitate together. There will be a fee associated with this course to cover the costs of the Soliya FTP (the first semester this course is being offered, costs are covered except for $100; in subsequent semesters the cost of the Soliya FTP is anticipated to be approximately $225). The dialogue and facilitation model utilized in this course is meant to provide students with the skills and knowledge to lead dialogues around contentious and personally difficult issues. As part of the course, we will spend time thinking about how to draw upon these skills to develop dialogue initiatives on the UMASS Boston campus and/or in students’ own communities.

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