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.
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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
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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.
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‫לימודים בינתחומיים‬
‫התכנית ללימודי ניהול‬
‫ויישוב סכסוכים ומשא ומתן‬