Interdisciplinary Studies Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation לימודים בינתחומיים התכנית ללימודי ניהול ויישוב סכסוכים ומשא ומתן Syllabus of Course: MEDIATION, CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND CULTURE Course Number _________ Prof. Michal Alberstein Year: 2014, Semester: summer, Studied on: _____________, Number of credit hours: 2, Email address of the lecturer: Michal.Alberstein@biu.ac.il. A. Description of the Course This course explores the various methods and models of conflict resolution in Israel, while focusing on mediation. Israel is a society of immigrants, coming from all parts of the world and bringing with them various and conflicting cultures, both Eastern and Western. The course will deal with cultures of mediation, referring to three models of mediation: Pragmatic, Transformative and Narrative. It will also explore unique Israeli cultures of conflict resolution such as the rabbinical court system, the Ethiopian "Schmagla" local mediators and the Arab reconciliation process of "sulcha." The course will examine the various implications of the cultural perspective on existing Israeli discussions about trauma, immigration, rifts in Israeli societies and other related themes. The course will include films, guest lectures, Simulations based on Israeli Supreme Court cases of identity conflicts, and visits to ADR fora to illustrate multicultural encounters in the Middle East and Israel, referring both to Islam and Judaism I wish you a very enjoyable visit in Israel and hope the course will enrich your understanding of Israeli cultures of conflict resolution. 1 Interdisciplinary Studies Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation לימודים בינתחומיים התכנית ללימודי ניהול ויישוב סכסוכים ומשא ומתן B. Content of the Course The course outline, by classes (titles only): 1. Introduction 2. Negotiation I 3. Negotiation II 4. Mediation 5. Visit to Beit Noam 6. Mediation II 7. Arbitration 8. Restorative justice 9. Culture 10. Legal Tour (No Class) 11. Cultures of Dispute Resolution in Israel 12. Summary, students presentations C. The Course Requirements and Grade 1. Final paper of 15-20 pages (80%) Students are invited to discuss with me topics for their papers at any stage of the course. Topics need to be approved by me no later then August 10th and the final paper is due on September 1st. Students submitting their papers by August 15th will receive comments on their work. Suggested topics for papers are listed below. 2. Class participation and simulations reports (20%) During the seminar, you will need to submit one short written assignment that can be one of the following: a report on simulation, a reflection note, a response to a film or a response to another activity we will have. I will give further instructions in class. 2 Interdisciplinary Studies Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation לימודים בינתחומיים התכנית ללימודי ניהול ויישוב סכסוכים ומשא ומתן D. Bibliography D.1. General: Required Text: Jacqueline M. Nolan-Haley, ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN A NUTSHELL (Nutshell) (West 2001) Recommended Reading: Menkel-Meadow, Lela Porter Love, Andrea Kupfer Schneider and Jean R.Sternlight, DISPUTE RESOLUTION: BEYOND THE ADVERSARIAL MODEL (Aspen Publishers, New York, 2005). KEVIN AVRUCH, CULTURE AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION (United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington D.C.1998). For general information and introduction see the following websites: http://www.sulcha.co.il/Content/ArticlesEn.asp http://www.crinfo.org/ http://www.mediate.com/ http://www.geert-hofstede.com/ D.2. Here is the bibliography per each class and its detailed description: 1. Introduction Assigned Reading: Nutshell, chapter 1; 2. Negotiation I Assigned Reading: Nutshell, chapter 2 pages 13-28; Carrie Menkel-Meadow, Toward Another View of Legal Negotiations: The Structure of Problem Solving, 31 U.C.L.A. L. REV. (1984) 754-783; 794-801.Introduction 3. Negotiation II Assigned Reading: Nutshell, chapter 2 pages 29-56. 4. Mediation I Assigned Reading: Nutshell ,chapter 3. 5. Visit Beit Noam 3 Interdisciplinary Studies Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation לימודים בינתחומיים התכנית ללימודי ניהול ויישוב סכסוכים ומשא ומתן Assigned Reading: http://www.restorativejustice.org/intro http://www.courtinnovation.org/ (focus on domestic violence courts) 6. Mediation II Assigned Reading: Michal Alberstein, Forms of Mediation and Law: Cultures of Dispute Resolution, 22 OHIO STATE JOURNAL OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION 321(2007). Focus on 321-342. 7. Arbitration Assigned Reading: Nutshell ,chapter 4. 8. Restorative Justice http://www.restorativejustice.org/intro 9. Culture Assigned Reading: Merry Sally Engle, Disputing Without Culture, 100 HARV. L. REV. 2057 (1987). http://www.culture-at-work.com/concept1.html http://fohs.bgu.ac.il/bedouin/ Recommended Reading: CLIFFORD GEERTZ, INTERPRETATION OF CULTURES (Basic Book Classics, new edition, 2000), Chapter 1: Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture, 3-32. . 10. Legal Tour (No Class). 11. Cultures of Dispute Resolution in Israel Ringworm Irradiation of immigrants to Israel through legal and public health perspectives. Assigned Reading: Nadav Davidovitch, Shifra Shvarts, Health and Hegemony: Preventive Medicine, Immigration and the Israeli Melting Pot, Israel Studies, 2004; 9: 150-179. 12. Summary, students presentations 4 Interdisciplinary Studies Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation SUGGESTED PAPER TOPICS Analyzing a conflict through reference to models of mediation Mediating Israeli rifts: analysis of appropriate mechanisms Bedouins in Israeli society: intercultural communication Mandatory mediation for a conflict in Israel Problem solving courts in Israel and the US Biases in Israeli negotiations Court-connected ADR-legal, ethical and policy issues The New Lawyer: Problem Solving and Therapeutic skills Note: I will describe each of the suggested paper topics in class. All other topics must be approved by me. 5 לימודים בינתחומיים התכנית ללימודי ניהול ויישוב סכסוכים ומשא ומתן