Core Courses

CRES 612 Philosophy of Conflict Resolution (4 credits) Graded

This course addresses some basic concepts of conflict resolution and their philosophical presuppositions. It is not a comprehensive survey of topics or theories in the field; it is selective in its approach, but in ways that mean to provoke reflection on the methods and aims of conflict resolution as a whole. Even when looking at more philosophical matters, its assumption is that philosophy is not a purely academic matter but is addressed to the practical urgencies of our lives.

The approach of the course is to ground itself in real life practical problems that are studied somewhat in the manner that law school deals with case studies. The larger conceptual and philosophical issues are drawn out of specific cases in ways that emphasize their bearing on practical problems. The cases are meant to be ones that involve real controversies, of a kind that express substantive values interests; students are asked to look at the cases sympathetically from both sides as a way of framing the task of conflict resolution.

Finally, the specific cases will vary from year to year. It is the hope that each year's discussion and examination will either augment the cases or suggest new ones to be explored.

Mediation Training

All students participate in a 32-hour mediation training over two weekends at the end of August and the beginning of September. This training introduces students to the concepts of mediation and the methods and skills of mediating. In addition, the training provides a practical foundation for working with conflicts that might arise within the cohort and controversial topics that are addressed in subsequent course work. There are opportunities for additional mediation training during the course of their studies. This training is a requirement for all students.

CRES 613 Perspectives on Conflict Resolution (4 credits) Graded

Conflict resolution is an inherently interdisciplinary field, influenced by and connecting such areas as law, labor relations, business and economics, environmental studies, public policy, philosophy, the cognitive and social sciences, counseling psychology, management, international relations, peace studies, intergroup relations, and communication. While exhaustive exploration of the field is not possible, the purpose of this course is to give participants a broad overview of methodological, professional, and research-focused approaches to conflict resolution considered from the literature and perspectives of multiple academic disciplines.

Class sessions involve lectures, discussions, exercises and collaborative activities. Lectures provided by the CDR program director, UO faculty and other guests characterize core aspects and issues of different theoretical, disciplinary, and professional approaches to various forms of conflict resolution. The opportunity to engage a breadth of topics and field experts at this point in their degree program studies facilitates future learning experiences and outcomes relevant to students' coursework, practica, and final project requirements, as well.

Course lectures draw extensively on the expertise of UO faculty and guest speakers, and one day per week is set aside for these guest lectures. The invited speakers present and discuss the underlying assumptions and characteristic research and/or methodological approach of their discipline to a given topic, highlight central questions on which researchers and practitioners have focused, and point to open questions in such areas as: cognitive and social psychology, organizational conflict, labor and business, and international relations. Speakers also compare and contrast "conventional" conflict resolution approaches with "critical" ones, and assist our explorations of the relationships between justice, efficiency, fairness, power, neutrality, advocacy, and other topics significant to the field. In addition to lectures, films and guest presentations, students participate in class exercises and simulations and learn basic communication skills and rudimentary conflict analysis and resolution skills. We also utilize case studies to connect and explore deeper theoretical and methodological concerns in conflict resolution.

CRES 610 Psychology of Conflict (4 credits) Graded

This course examines the psychological sources, nature, and functions of conflict. It covers multiple levels of analysis relevant to conflict and its antecedents: intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup. It spans the range from nonviolent and generally constructive forms of conflict, such as debates about how to reach a shared goal, to violent forms of conflict such as ethnic riots and war. Topics covered include power, status, social identity, the self, interpersonal perception, gender dynamics, and the role of social structures in promoting or dampening friction among people. We will also consider the degree to which different sources and types of conflict are special to humans or are shared with either a small number of other species (e.g., organized intergroup violence, for example), or with a broad array of species (e.g., status conflicts, for example). Class time is devoted to the discussion of assigned readings and some experiential exercises. Outside of class, students keep a record of their observations of conflict in daily life and also make weekly posts and comments on a class blog.

“My hope for the class is that students gain insight into the variety of ways in which conflict is expressed and the many functions that the sometimes negative experience of conflict serves. I hope students leave the class with the understanding that conflict is not only a problem to be resolved, but also a fundamental and enduring feature of life for a species as profoundly social as ours.”
--Holly Arrow

CRES 614 Negotiation, Bargaining and Persuasion (4 credits) Graded

This course is designed to develop students' skills of negotiating and communicating effectively, the heart of all conflict resolution and management. Negotiation is a communication processes that people use to plan transactions and resolve conflict. A natural tension exists between our willingness to compete with others by using adversarial negotiation strategies and our corresponding belief that in appropriate circumstances, a collaborative, problem-solving orientation might lead to mutual gains. Managing these mixed motives is the central task of effective negotiation. Much of a negotiator's success is dependent upon decisions made by the other parties to the negotiation. Therefore, we must know how to communicate with others effectively, understand our own motivations and emotions, and be strategic in the steps we take to negotiate through these contexts. With enhanced skills, students can be flexible enough to work successfully in many contexts. This course includes reading from texts and is made "life relevant" by utilizing information from daily newspaper articles for discussions and class exercises.

All of us negotiate all the time—at work, at home, with colleagues, counterparts, family, and friends. We hope that we learn from these experiences. We imagine that we are building our negotiation skills incrementally, so that over time we are becoming more capable negotiators. But do these experiences help us to improve? Unfortunately, an honest assessment suggests that the answer is often “no.” Just as reading about negotiation theories is no guarantee of improvement, simply having more experience negotiating does not necessarily make someone a better negotiator. Instead, most of us seem to miss most of the learning opportunities we encounter.

Scott Peppet & Michael Moffitt, Learning How to Learn to Negotiate in The Negotiator’s Fieldbook, Schneider & Honeyman, eds. (ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, 2006), p.615.

"My goal in the Negotiation, Bargaining, and Persuasion course is to improve students’ skills in understanding and conducting negotiations in a variety of contexts. I do not believe that there is a single “best” or “correct” way to negotiate. At the same time, it is my experience that there are better and worse sets of practices. I have every confidence that over the term, my students will develop an improved sense of the approach(es) to negotiation they believe will serve them best in various contexts. With careful reflection and focused coaching, I aim to make students more observant, purposeful, analytically skilled, behaviorally agile, and persuasive negotiators."
- Professor Michael Moffitt

CRES 615 Cross Cultural Dynamics in Conflict Resolution (4 credits) Graded

Conflict resolution is practiced today within conditions of increasing diversity, migration, and globalization, and in response to specific interpersonal and historical dynamics. Our cultural identities are shaped by these conditions and dynamics, too. All individuals possess (or perform) multiple and intersecting cultural identities - e.g. ethnicity, gender, nationality, linguistic group, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, etc. These identities are salient in how we stand in relation to each other, experience operative policies, practices, and institutions in the public and private spheres, and "value" conflict and conflict resolution. To be successful practitioners, we must sensitively and effectively engage cross-cultural dynamics of communication, history, and relationships. We must also understand, respect, and effectively work with differential attitudes toward conflict and conflict resolution where they may exist.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to build or enhance necessary theoretical knowledge, awareness, understanding, practical skills, and strategies for effectiveness in cross-cultural conflict resolution. We explore cultural competency models and work (as individuals and practitioners) to examine our respective personal and cultural experiences, identities, norms, narratives, and biases. We study, utilize, and practice various methods of interpersonal and intercultural communication. We survey some specific responses to cross-cultural conflict and conflict resolution within US and international contexts. While this course is not envisioned as exhaustive in scope explored, issues engaged, or learning outcomes produced, students who complete this course successfully will possess demonstrable competencies - that is, awareness, knowledge, and/or skills - in the following areas:

• cultural and cross-cultural dynamics in conflict and how these may inform differential experiences of or orientations toward conflict and conflict resolution
• conscientiousness about choices made, methods utilized, and communication styles selected - and the effectiveness of these - in various practical situations
• apprehension of the roles that personal and group attitudes, attributions, behaviors, and values may play regarding conflicts (including cross-cultural conflicts) in interpersonal, public and private contexts
• cross-culturally effective assessment, prevention, and engagement (including intervention, management, transformation, and/or resolution)

CRES 616 Mediation Skills (4 Credits) Graded

The Mediation Skills course is focused on the "practice" of mediation. An extension of the Basic Mediation training, students gain further proficiency in using the skills and tools fundamental to being effective in resolving conflict as a mediator. The course is designed to be highly interactive with extensive opportunity to apply theoretical learning in role-plays and small and large group exercises. Students are also exposed to the wide range of settings where mediation is being practiced and the transformational potential this role brings to human community. Students taking the course gain greater clarity and confidence in resolving conflict that will be invaluable whether planning to continue as a mediator, a lawyer, a manager, or a citizen. The 32-hour Basic Mediation Training is a pre-requisite for this course.

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”

-M. Scott Peck

"At the least, mediation offers an alternative to destructive and divisive ways of responding to conflict. More importantly, it is our belief that the distress of conflict has the potential to awaken people to new understanding, deepen interpersonal connections, and lead to creative solutions. Learning how to be with people who are in conflict as a neutral, to assist them in finding their own way through this distress without taking sides, forcing solutions, or trying to fix the problem is not only an essential life and professional skill, but ultimately, it is a gift to all of humanity. While we are both professional mediators, for us this is less a career choice than an expression of our deepest held beliefs and values about our life’s purpose. Our hope is to create a classroom experience where students have the opportunity to develop their own truths about the nature of conflict resolution through learning and practicing how to serve as a mediator."

- Instructors Mary Forst and Laurel Singer

CRES 610, Facilitation (4 credits) Graded

Conflict resolution practitioners may work interpersonally, with larger groups, or with multiple groups. While there is much correspondence and transfer of skills and principles between interpersonal mediation and group facilitation, the latter practice presents its own inherent challenges. Group and inter-group facilitation requires additional skills, tools, and conceptual frameworks. This hands-on, skills-building course familiarizes students with the basic methods, tools, principles, and theories of intra-group and inter-group facilitation, including values and ethics, core competencies, contracting with clients, assessment, decision making, problem solving, consensus building, group dynamics, leadership, and diversity. The course looks at a number of facilitation methodologies and approaches.

"We co-designed this course with a view to offering the very best up-to-date thinking on the art and science of facilitation skills. We have taught facilitation for many years and feel this is one of our best offerings. We are always excited about engaging students deeply in discussing and experiencing the what, why, how, who and where of working with groups. Students who have worked with us have said they've come away with some of the best learning that they've experienced along with the ability to apply what they've learned immediately."

- Instructors Barbara MacKay and Annie Bentz

CRES 617 Professionalism in Practice (4 credits) Graded

This course examines ethical issues that arise in mediation, as well as legal boundaries of which mediators must be aware. Students consider the following topics, among others: ethical considerations in initiating the settlement process; proper procedures for engaging the mediator and framing the professional relationship; confidentiality; conflicts of interest; restrictions for nonlawyers; limits on admissibility of evidence; duty of candor in mediation and negotiations; and unique ethical issues relating to arbitration. Students consider a number of case studies, including the mediation of claims by sex abuse victims and claims by Holocaust survivors.

"My course examines the ethical issues that arise in mediation and in other forms of conflict resolution. This course is fun to teach because the rules and standards are just developing right now. It's exciting to think that some of the graduates of my course will soon be steering the professional organizations that promulgate these rules and standards. Students in the Master’s program don't just learn the rules; they go on to shape the rules themselves."

-Professor Tom Lininger

CRES 618 Adjudication and Courts (2 credits) Graded

Dispute resolution courses typically focus on alternatives to litigation. Yet the civil litigation system is the most heavily subsidized dispute resolution system in our society. Those who are not trained in the law typically have, at most, anecdotal experience with litigation. To fully understand and appreciate the conditions in which litigation is (and is not) most appropriate as a dispute resolution mechanism, one must have some understanding of the litigation process. This seminar provides an overview of modern civil litigation in the United States. It begins with an exploration of some of the assumptions our litigation system makes about the appropriate role(s) of law, or courts, and of lawyers. It then traces the life of a typical civil case through the various stages of modern litigation. The seminar concludes with an examination of the incentives the current system of litigation creates for disputants, for lawyers, and for society generally.

"Adjudication and Courts is a course that explores the most expensive dispute resolution system in our country. The purpose of the course is to give students a working familiarity with the basic concepts that animate the system, the terminology and structure of that system, and the factors that influence judges' decisions (factors ranging from constitutional considerations to personal preferences). The course is intended to both demystify the process of litigation and to instill an appreciation of the complexity and uncertainty inherent in adjudication. "

- Professor Merle Weiner

CRES 630 Arbitration and Hybrid Processes (2 credits) Graded

Three processes of dispute resolution - litigation, mediation, and negotiation - dominate much of the literature. Given the variety of circumstances giving rise to disputes, however, it is no surprise that practitioners have crafted other processes for addressing their concerns. This seminar provides students with a survey of other important mechanisms of dispute resolution. It begins with a detailed exploration of adjudicative alternatives to litigation - principally arbitration in its various forms. This exploration includes an overview not only of the practice of arbitration, but also of the legal, ethical, and policy implications of that practice. The seminar then considers various arbitral and non-arbitral hybrids, including med-arbitration, summary jury trial, judicial settlement conferences, early case evaluation, and various forms of facilitation. The seminar concludes by considering processes of dispute resolution in non-traditional contexts, including multiparty public disputes and intra-organizational disputes. The course includes readings from scholarly journals as well as from original texts of statutes and court opinions.

"Arbitration is an interesting subject to begin with and particularly these days. It's a dynamic field raising lots of questions about impact on our justice system and on relationships among parties. During the course, students engage in a simulated arbitration to see what the process feels like. And I bring in guest speakers who can talk about their experience of how arbitration really works."

- Instructor Mike Tedesco

CRES 631 Seminar: Research Methodology (3 credits) Graded

In this seminar, students learn what research is, what problems research may encounter or raise, and how to engage in it. The course considers some of the assumptions underlying both qualitative and quantitative research methods in traditional disciplines. We hear from scholars in different disciplines discuss how they use theoretical models to guide their practical, empirical, and archival work. Among the questions and issues we cover in this course are: How is theory related to research? How does research relate to efforts for social change? Does the social location (intersections of race, class, sexual identity, etc.) of the researcher affect her/his research? What is the relationship of the researcher to the researched? What ethical, political, and methodological considerations might arise in doing research?

In addition to becoming acquainted with a variety of current research methodologies of relevance in the interdisciplinary field of conflict and dispute resolution, students also have an opportunity to sharpen their research skills. Research and library experts help guide students how best to use various information resources (e.g., archival indexes and electronic databases). All students participate in the professional technique of 'work-shopping' an outline of their proposed project to receive feedback from colleagues and the instructor. As their final assignment for the course, students write a draft proposal for the students' professional project to be completed in the Conflict and Dispute Resolution master's degree program.

CRES 610 Drafting Settlement Agreements (1 credit) P/NP

Documenting agreements in writing is a key part of most dispute resolution processes. Whether one is functioning as a mediator, a manager, a participant in a business relationship, or a neighbor, recording agreements is good practice. This course helps students develop the skills to write agreements that are comprehensive, clear, and unambiguous while avoiding the unauthorized practice of law.

CRES 650 Capstone Seminar (2 credits) P/NP

This professional seminar is designed to promote the integration of the core curriculum, electives, professional project, and practicum experience of the Master's degree in Conflict and Dispute Resolution. Active participation in the course helps students prepare for the transition to a professional position following completion of the degree. In this course, students (1) assess skills development up to this point; (2) write a professional narrative that explores interests and motivations; and (3) design a tentative plan for launching and/or developing a professional career.