Overview of Course

The course SPCM 436 explores the topic of conflict management from intercultural and communication perspectives. During the course students will learn about theories of conflict and its management from different cultural and disciplinary perspectives. The course will prepare students to create awareness about conflict, its dynamics and processes on theoretical and practical levels and discuss solutions to manage conflict in different socio-cultural contexts. Self-reflective processes and learnings will be part of the course to develop conflict management, communication and mediation skills holistically, including cognitive, affective and behavioral aspects. Case scenarios from different socio-cultural backgrounds will serve as learning opportunities – taking the different cultures visited during this voyage into consideration - to create in-depth, intercultural knowledge, understanding and potential solutions to manage and mediate conflicts from different cultural perspectives.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• To develop a basic and foundational theoretical knowledge and understanding about conflict and its dynamics of escalation and de-escalation
• To discuss a positive psychology, growth and development approach to conflict and its management
• To familiarize you with attitudes, experiences and causes of conflict from different cultural perspectives, taking the cultures visited during the voyage into consideration
• To explore theories of conflict management, resolution, transformation and mediation anchored in Western theories and beyond
• To explore culture-specific ways of managing conflict
• To learn how to manage, de-escalate and mediate conflict situations practically in diverse cultural contexts