We do not have any formal for-credit courses available in 2021, although we do have two "self-study" courses. These were developed in 2006 and 2008 respectively, but the topics they cover are still very relevant, and many of the individual readings have been updated in the last couple of years as part of the Conflict Fundamentals Massive Open Online Seminar.
Dealing Constructively with Intractable Conflicts (DCIC)
- Focus: This "self-study" course is designed to help students better understand and deal with long-lasting and difficult-to-resolve conflicts (although much of the course material is also applicable to simpler, more tractable disputes). Although this course used to be offered with formal grading and a "certificate of completion," our funding which allowed us to do that has run out. We therefore are leaving the readings and assignments posted for those who are interested, but grading and certificates of completion are no longer available. For more information, please see the DCIC home page.
- Intended Audience: DCIC was intended for college students (both advanced undergraduates and graduate students); third parties (peacebuilders, mediators, and aid and development workers); and people who are directly involved in difficult conflicts as disputants or victims, and who want to find more constructive ways of approaching their situation.
- Credit: None: this course is for self-study only.
- Cost: Free.
- Requirements: This program consists of 10 units, averaging about 40 pages of online reading and 1-2 hours of online audio interviews (for which transcripts are available for people who prefer to read). For those wanting more information, several thousand pages of supplemental material and about 100 hours of online audio are also accessible in the full Beyond Intractability system. When this course was offered in a graded format, students were asked to answer a few questions at the end of each unit, generally requiring writing about 5-8 pages in response. Since instruction is no longer available for this course, those assignments are still posted for self use, but are entirely optional.
- Focus: This also is a self study course wich focuses on things everybody should know about conflict: why it occurs, how it can be beneficial, and how to manage it so that it is beneficial and not harmful. For more information, please see the Conflict 101 home page.
- Intended Audience: Conflict 101 was intended for college students (both advanced undergraduates and graduate students), people who deal with conflict a lot in their jobs (teachers, managers, health care providers, etc.), parents who want to do a better job of dealing with their kids or spouses, or anyone who wants a better understanding of ways of dealing with conflict.
- Credit: None--this course is for self study only.
- Cost: Free
- Requirements: This program consists of 10 units, averaging about 40 pages of online reading and 1-2 hours of online audio interviews (for which transcripts are available for people who prefer to read). For those wanting more information, several thousand pages of supplemental material and about 100 hours of online audio are also accessible in the full Beyond Intractability system. When this course was offered in a graded format, students were asked to answer a few questions at the end of each unit, generally requiring writing about 5-8 pages in response. Since instruction is no longer available for this course, those assignments are still posted for self use, but are entirely optional.
