CONCEPT NOTE
General purpose and description of the conference:
- Interdisciplinary meeting to explore the current theory and practice of transforming conflict and building cohesion utilizing an understanding of identity dynamics.
- Up to 15 speakers will present papers detailing research and field practices developed using perspectives and methodologies from different disciplines and applied to a variety of world regions.
- In the semester running up to the conference, GS and GRM students will be trained in a variety of academic and practical techniques that will allow them to understand and utilize identity dynamics in a given peace/cohesion-building context. The student session of the conference will allow them to present their projects and receive feedback from the expert audience.
Conference Structure and Contents
- Explores theoretical dimensions of conflict and identity.
- Explores existing practical projects, approaches and interventions that somehow utilize an understanding of identity dynamics.
- Explores various world conflict/cohesion-building contexts exposing how identities are at play in maintaining a state of conflict or sectarianism.
- Explores how to apply a systematic set of theories and methodologies to proposed interventions focused on targeting identities in a given region.
Desired Conference Outcomes
- The creation of a network of individuals from different professional and academic backgrounds who can work to further the conference’s core questions through subsequent research, publication and practical initiatives.
- The creation of a debate that questions how utilizing theoretical models and practical techniques centered on identity can potentially increase the effectiveness of practitioners and professionals working to transform conflict/build cohesion in real-world contexts.
- A demonstration of a variety of specific models and techniques that have been developed to be of use to communities of academics and practitioners.
- A demonstration of how these theoretical and practical techniques can be placed into a pedagogical framework for use in graduate and/or professional education/training programs.
