Archives: March 2005
Thu Mar 31, 2005
Reflections on Return - Young Soldiers Back from War
Reflections on Return was produced by Youth Radio and posted July 28 - August 10 2004. When reporters of Youth Radio in Oakland watched their friends begin to returning home from Iraq, they realized that the public was not hearing the perspectives of these young soldiers who had participated in the conflict. So they produced a six-part series, Reflections on Return. You can still listen to the audio online.
Mandela: An Audio History
This five-part radio series and audio timeline produced by Radio Diaries documents the struggle against apartheid through rare sound recordings, the voice of Nelson Mandela himself, as well as those who fought with him, and against him. The collection includes:
A recording of the 1964 trial that resulted in Mandela's life sentence
A visit between Mandela and his family secretly recorded by a prison guard
Marching songs of guerilla soldiers
Government propaganda films
Pirate radio broadcasts from the African National Congress
Interviews with former ANC activists, National Party politicians, army generals, Robben Island prisoners, and ordinary witnesses to history
Wed Mar 30, 2005
Lecture on Roots of Human Cooperation and Conflict
Despite predictions that humans are self-interested organisms that inevitably are in conflict with others, more often than not people, show considerable levels of trust and a willingness to cooperate with strangers. In this video-taped talk entitled 'In Others We Trust?' Roots of Human Cooperation and Conflict, Rick Wilson from Rice University looks at the ways in which humans cooperate, rather than kill one another.
Power Difference Simulation
This class exercise by Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal is designed to demonstrate differential power and the conflict that can result from perceptions of inequity. The simulation creates creates a highly-stratified three-level society with no stated task other than to learn from the experience.† With nothing else to focus on, people tend to focus on the structural differentiation and the perceptions of inequality.† The simulation tends to be very powerful, and† some form of rebellion by members of the bottom group is common.†
Tue Mar 29, 2005
Test of First Conflict Resolution Podcasts feed
The RSS 2.0 feed (for use with a podcast "catcher" client) of my first test podcast is located HERE (Warning - contains music as well as talk!). The direct link to our mp3 audio player is here if you just want to listen online. It sets the stage for my participation in this year's ADR Cyberweek events occurring April 4-8. I'm leading a forum exploring the possible increased use of RSS for information sharing among members of the Conflict Resolution field.
Mon Mar 28, 2005
Google Book Digitization Project Includes Conflict Studies Books
We are just now beginning to see results for the agreement between Google and some major University Libraries to digitize and index books. The results are fully seachable versions of books on a wide variety of subjects. The easiest way to try out the still beta service is to go to Google and search on the phrase "book" followed by your term of interest. For instance, try searching on "book conflict theory". At the top of the page you'll see a section labeled "Book results for conflict theory". When I tried it, it turned up full text versions of two of the textbooks I used in my Fall Roots of Social Conflict class. Should the textbook industry be worried...? (I think not.)
Mario Savio Memorial Lecture and Young Activist Award Featuring Molly Ivins
This Real-player streamed presentation of the Eighth Annual Mario Savio Lecture features comments from Mario Savio's wife , a new chancellor to the Berkeley campus, Jason West (young activist award winner) and a wonderful brief video about Mario. He talks about being a stutterer up through high school and the deeper meaning of freedom of speech. The main speaker is Molly Ivins, a nationally-syndicated political columnist, and the author of Bushwhacked! Life in George Bush's America and the new Who Let the Dogs In?: Incredible Political Animals I Have Known. Her remarks begin at about the 40 minute mark in the video.
Presented annually to honor the memory of Mario Savio (1942-1996), spokesperson for the UC Berkeley Free Speech Movement of 1964; to celebrate the spirit of moral courage and vision which he and countless other activists of his generation exemplified; to promote the ideals and values Mario Savio struggled to advance throughout his life; and to recognize and encourage young activists who are trying to build a more humane and just society.
Sponsored by The Board of Directors of the Mario Savio Memorial Lecture & Young Activist Award, in cooperation with the Free Speech Movement Cafe, the Goldman School of Public Policy, the Graduate School of Journalism, and the UC Berkeley Library.
This event took place on 10/6/04
Fri Mar 25, 2005
WikiWax Search LookAhead Tool
WikiWax is a special quick index to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia that uses a "LookAhead" technology to help narrow your search by suggesting available terms as you type. Try typing the term "conflict" for instance, but stop at "confli". Lots of definitions of interest there...
Know Your Legal Terms Bingo
Know Your Legal Terms is a bingo-type interactive online game that teaches participants twenty-four very basic legal terms. 
Handling Difficult Workers - Simulation Game
This simple online interactive simulation (built in flash) introduces participants to six workplace behaviors that can be difficult to manage. They are based on a work by Charles Mallory titled Itís a Jungle Out There. 
Wed Mar 23, 2005
Integrating Technology into Teaching WebQuest
This Integrating Technology WebQuest was prepared to assist in the planning and implementation process of integrating technology into teaching practice. It is designed for either a group activity or individually with your own practice at your own pace. Developed by Jennifer Strickland of Paradise Valley Community College.
Tue Mar 15, 2005
The Propaganda Remix Project
The Propaganda Remix Project by Micah Wright takes old propaganda posters and changes the wording to send a very different message. More than a 100 posters to stimulate your consciousness.
Peace and Conflict 2003: A Global Survey of Armed Conflicts, Self-Determination Movements, and Democracy
Peace and Conflict 2003 is the second edition in the Integrated Network for Societal Conflict Research (INSCR) Program's biennial global report series. It is written by Monty G. Marshall and Ted Robert Gurr with contributions by Jonathan Wilkenfeld, Mark Lichbach, and David Quinn. The free full-color, 72-page global report details major trends in armed conflict, self-determination movements, and democracy through the contemporary era, 1946-2002, and provides a "conflict ledger" assessing each country's "peace-building capacity" in 2003. The 2003 edition of the report complements the 2001 edition, also available for download, by updating the trends and issues raised in the earlier report, expanding its analysis of global and regional trends in democratization, extending its analysis of self-determination movements to examine group grievances and strategies, and updating its descriptions of the status of major armed conflicts and self-determination movements. The 2003 report also incorporates new features on anti-globalization protest and international crises.
Mon Mar 14, 2005
75th Anniversary of Gandhi's Salt March - Online Resources
The year 2005 is the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Great Salt March.†On 12th March 1930 Mahatma Gandhi, then aged 61, started walking from Sabarmati Ashram with a band of 78 handpicked volunteers. Their destination was a beachhead 241 miles to the south, Dandi. On the 5th of April 1930, when Mahatma Gandhi and his band of followers reached Dandi, thousands had joined him en-route; the eyes of the world were riveted on this tiny and as yet insignificant beachside village in South Gujarat. The Salt March is today worldwide acknowledged as the one event that shook the British Empire to its core.
The Mahatma Gandhi Foundation is hosting a commemorative website and organizing a re-enactment of the march. Their site includes photos, video clips and cartoons from the original event period.
Sat Mar 12, 2005
Conversations with History Video Series
Conversations with History videos. This long-running series of interviews hosted by UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler provides a rich collection of potential teaching material. The interviews tend to run about an hour each, and are available online using Real Player. A few shows of particular interest to our readers include:
Education and Citizenship
(#8048; 56 minutes)
Philosopher and education theorist Joseph Tussman talks about the nature of learning, teaching, and political discourse.
Reflections on the Work of Diplomacy and the Peace Process, with Samuel Lewis
(#9145; 56 minutes)
In this 1988 interview, diplomat Samuel Lewis joins host Harry Kreisler for a discussion of conflict resolution in the Middle East.
International Law and Human Rights, Tom Farer
(#6225; 59 minutes; 2/11/2002)
Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver, Tom Farer discusses his work in human rights, international law, foreign policy and humanitarian aid.
Radical History with Howard Zinn
(#8400; minutes)
UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler interviews historian and activist Howard Zinn.
Reflections on a Life in War and Peace with Sir Brian Urquhart
(#7802; minutes)
Former United Nations Undersecretary General Sir Brian Urquhart in conversation with UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler looks back on his distinguished career as a soldier and diplomat.
Reminiscences from a Career in Science, National Security, and the University
(#8401; minutes)
UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler interviews the Director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Herbert F. York.
Robert Gallucci on U.S. Foreign Policy and Multilateral Negotiations
(#6726; 58 minutes; 9/2/2002)
On this edition of Conversations with History, Robert Gallucci, Dean of the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, joins host Harry Kreisler.
A Dialogue on the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process, with Yossi Beilin and Faisel Husseini
(#9169; 50 minutes)
In this 1998 interview, Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Faisal Husseini, one of the leading figures in the Palestinian national movement and Yossi Beilin, a leading Israeli political figure, for a discussion of how their mutual dialogue set in.
Alan Cranston - Democracy, Disarmament and Public Education
(#5563; 53 minutes; 3/12/2001)
Alan Cranston was a four term Senator from California and president and founder of the Global Security Institute and director of its nuclear weapons elimination initiative.
Ambassador David D. Newsom "Reflections of a Diplomat"
(#7132; minutes)
Former Undersecretary of State David D. Newsom in a conversation with UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler, talks about the challenges of making foreign policy in a democracy.
Diplomacy, the Nuclear Arms Race, and East-West Relations, with Lord Carrington
(#9162; 60 minutes)
In this 1984 interview, Lord Carrington, one of Britain's greatest statesmen, joins U.C. Berkeley's Harry Kreisler and Professor Ernest Haas for a discussion.
Environmental Justice with Oronto Douglas
(#7236; 55 minutes; 5/19/2003)
In this edition, Nigerian attorney and environmental activist Oronto Douglas, talks about political activism and cultural identity in the context of globalization.
Open Source
(#7892; 56 minutes; 1/19/2004)
Political scientist Steven Weber talks with Conversations Host Harry Kreisler about the implications of the network paradigm for democracy, private property, and international relations.
Tue Mar 08, 2005
Workable Peace Curriculum Role Plays
Workable Peace is a secondary school level curriculum package developed by the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) at MIT/Harvard. The materials are available for purchase at the project website. Of particular interest to conflict teachers and trainers is their collection of social conflict roleplays. The role plays are set in international hot spots around the world. There are currently six full-length Workable Peace role plays, and one Introductory role play. Each role play includes several parts: the historical background and general instructions, confidential instructions for each role, a teaching note, worksheets and evaluation forms. The case overviews, freely available for viewing online, are well done and provide a nice summary of an interesting range of cases. To get the full case materials, however, you'll have to purchase them unit by unit or as a whole collection.
Athens-Melos Introductory Role Play
Guatemala: From Truce to Peace?
Middle East: The Future of Hebron
Northern Ireland: March at Drumcree
Rwanda: One Village, Six People
The Pullman Strike: A Company Town Breaks Down
The Boston Busing: School Integration in Massachusetts
Mon Mar 07, 2005
New York Public Library Digital Images Collection
NYPL has launched the NYPL Digital Gallery, a 275,000-item online collection prints, maps, posters, photographs, illuminated manuscripts, sheet-music covers, dust jackets, menus and cigarette cards. I tried the term conflict and the term peace with some interesting results. 
Sun Mar 06, 2005
Webjay Playlist Builder - Conflict Assessment Example
As the interest in web-based and podcast delivered audio grows, so do the tools available. One very promising new example is the free Webjay service, where people can build and share homecooked playlists of audio or video content. While most of the current content is music, it has great educational potential as well. As an example of what can be done easily online, I built a list using some of the audio available from the Beyondintractability.org project, in this case on conflict assessment. Here is the RSS feed for this if you want to use it in a podcast client, and here's a portion of the playlist included in this post using a snippet of javascript available at the Webjay site.
Sat Mar 05, 2005
INTIME Case Study Builder and Tenets of Democracy in Teaching
The Integrating New Technologies Into the Methods of Education project based at the University of Northern Iowa has now produced a large number of instructive videos supporting the use of technology in K-12 education. The INTIME project works to get new teachers engaged with the use of technology by showing them videos of other teachers successfully integrating technology while supporting key learning objectives. Of special interest to our readers would be the Tenets of Democracy that are covered in each case. You can search for video examples of Democracy Tenants in action in the classroom videos. One particularly interesting tool of the project is the Case Study Builder, which walks the user through the construction of a full learning example. 
Thu Mar 03, 2005
12 Teaching Scenarios: Responding to Rape, Domestic Violence, and Child Abuse
These teaching scenarios were developed by the Women's Justice Center in Santa Rosa California. They are designed for use in groups and classes of all kinds. Although they are phrased in terms of what to do if you have "a friend" in a given situation, the scenarios are designed to educate everyone, including people who work with victims in a professional capacity, such as victim advocates; teachers, law enforcement, clergy, health workers, and counselors.
Wed Mar 02, 2005
Singing Science Records - Now on Mp3!
A six-LP set of science-themed folk songs produced in the late 1950's and early 1960's is now available over the internet. They were originally produced by Hy Zaret and Lou Singer and posted to the web by Jef Poskanzer at his Singing Science page. While they have little to do with conflict resolution, they sure are fun in a nostalgic Atomic Age kind of way.