SOC/CRJ 440 - Conflict Management

Course Structure

This class will include lecture, discussions, role plays, and other classroom activity. A few graded activities will be completed online. In addition to this site, course content is also included in the cjcampus site designed for this course. We wil NOT be using Blackboard for this course.

cjcampus

Course Description

A survey of the conceptual and theoretical bases of conflict and conflict management, the institutional framework and dynamics of alternative dispute resolution, and the use of negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and other hybrid approaches for achieving conflict settlement or resolution. Specific emphasis is on the use of applied diagnostic and analytical tools, and interactive learning approaches.

Readings

Moore, C. W. (2003). The Mediation Process. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kestner, P. B. and Ray, L. (2002). The Conflict Resolution Training Program Participant's Handbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Rubin, J. Z., Pruitt, D. and Kim, S.H. (2004). Social Conflict. new York: McGraw Hill.

Evaluation Criteria

Essay Exams (40%)
Class Activity (40%)
cjencyclopedia Entry (10%)
Class Participation (10%)

A = 90% - 100%
B = 80% - 89.99%
C = 70% - 79.99%
D = 60% - 69.99%
F = 59.99% or below

Essay Exams: (40%)

Four essay exams will be completed during the class. Exam questions, and instructions for submission, will be posted in the cjcampus online classroom at the beginning of the week in which the essay is due. Your essays should have sufficient breadth and depth to indicate more than a passing awareness of the issues raised in the questions. Grading will be determined based on the thoroughness of response and the ability to properly apply knowledge gained through readings and other class experiences. Essays should be "term paper quality." Pay attention to spelling, sentence and paragraph structure, organization, and citations. Your papers should use APA style, which is described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Class Activity: (40%)

This class includes a variety of in-class activities. Active participation in role plays, negotiation and mediation exercises, and other activities is expected. Your grade will depend on active participation in these activities throughout the semester. Of course, it will be difficult for you to participate if you are not in attendance.

cjencyclopedia Entry: (10%)

This class will participate in the design of the "Online Encyclopedia of Criminal Justice." Each student is expected to prepare two essays to be included in the dictionary. One essay will be an original contributions while the second will include the editing of a previously submitted essay. Plagiarism rules apply. For the original contribution each student is expected to submit a 750 word essay on a topic agreed upon in advance. These articles must be written in a formal style, similar to that used in research papers, including citations (in APA format) and links to related online material. Students will revise a previously submitted essay, bringing the older submission up to the standards above, as the second essay. More information is provided at the cjencyclopedia site.

Participation and Engagement: (10%)

This course will be better if you talk more and I talk less. I prefer not to dominate the discussion, so each of you will need to remain active throughout the course. You all have interesting ideas and viewpoints and we learn more by sharing and trying to understand various views.

Note that this criteria includes participation and engagement. While we may be able to assess participation through a simple count of posts, we are also interested in active engagement throughout the course. Engagement is demonstrated by remaining active each week, submitting assignments on time, and helping each other create a vibrant learning environment.

Course Policies

Learning Strategies

This course has been designed as a "learning environment." You are all familiar with the dynamic of the classroom - the professor may lecture while students listen and occasionally interact. Most classrooms are designed as "teaching environments." Students may not be an integral part of a teaching environment and in some cases the class could be held even if no students were in attendance.

In contrast, learning environments require student engagement. Like the story of "leading a horse to water," this course environment is the water. To make it work, you must each "take a drink."

You are all expected to help each other. Your professor has a great deal of knowledge about the subject matter. Each student in this class also has knowledge that can help us learn. Help each other understand this material as we make our way through the semester.

Deadlines

Deadlines are not suggestions. All written material will rapidly lose points in the days following the due date. Zero points will be awarded for missed assignments.

ADA

Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments is requested to speak directly to Disability Support Services and the instructor, as early in the semester (preferably within the first week) as possible. All discussions will remain confidential. Please contact Disability Support Services, DF Lowry Building, 910-521-6695. Please see http://www.uncp.edu/dss/ for more information.

Class Withdrawal

Class withdrawal is your responsibility. If you disappear, we will wonder where you are. However, we will not drop you from the class. Withdrawals should follow University procedure. The student is responsible for obtaining all necessary signatures on drop slips.

Academic Misconduct

A very high price can be paid when you are caught cheating. Too high to risk. All written material must be your own composition. It is not appropriate to submit work originally completed for another course. Appropriate credit must be given for sources used in developing your ideas and arguments. You must provide appropriate citations, following APA Style guidelines. It is easy to see when large sections of text have been lifted from web pages or other sources. This is quite easy to verify as well.

NOTE: The penalties for engaging in any of these acts of academic misconduct will be determined on a case-by-case basis, but will follow general university guidelines as to severity.

Classroom Climate

Classroom climate is not solely the Professor's responsibility. We encourage each of you to engage in conversation on any issue. The University is a place for free speech, limited through individual choice. These choices may be altered with awareness of the real or potential reaction of others. However, you should not be intimidated into keeping quiet. We do not condone racist, sexist, homophobic, or other hateful speech. You are all adults, capable of understanding generally accepted rules of conduct and modifying your behavior in an effort to comply with these social or legal expectations. You are responsible for your behavior.

Final Grades

If grades are made available online, be advised that if there is any error the grade you receive from the registrar is your official grade. Grade changes will be made only in cases of data or computation error. Please do not ask, beg, or otherwise attempt to change a properly computed grade.

Course Outline and Schedule

This course outline is intended to define much of what will happen throughout this course. Changes are possible. Any changes will be clearly presented to the class and will often include class discussion. Changes will apply to all students enrolled in this course, without regard to whether they were involved in the discussion.