CONF 730: STRUCUTRAL SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Professor Ho-Won Jeong
George Mason University
Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
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This course is designed to promote conceptual understandings of structural sources of conflict based on the examination of various social science paradigms. Issues discussed in class include but are not limited to the relationships between types of social systems and conflict, and the impact of structural conditions on perceptions and culture. More specifically, the following questions are seriously considered in class lecture and discussion. In what ways do structural conditions affect the resolution of conflict? Why do we need to pay attention to social and economical inequity in conflict analysis? What types of conflict emerge in the modern political economy? In what ways does the nature of social conflict differ from inter-personal conflict? Can every conflict be managed in existing social arrangements? How do various models of conflict analysis explain power relations, identify boundaries and cultural norms?
By shedding light on various types of social and power relations, this course takes an approach that explores institutional sources the deep causes of environmental conflict, violence and inequity in urban communities, and social hierarchies and political alienation in ethnic and other types of communal conflicts. The class begins with a discussion of the theoretical traditions of Karl Marx and Max Weber. The way authority and power are legitimized has a significant impact on relations between different classes. A Marxist paradigm interprets state institutions as a tool for maintaining the hierarchical structure of a capitalist state. In Weberian theories, however, power is understood in terms of different bases of legitimacy. Structuration theory (Anthony Giddens) answered such questions as how society can evolve in response to challenges to its stability and survival.
The process of creating modern identity is associated with a newly emerging
values and social boundaries. Identity construction and politics of discourse
are important in understanding transformative possibilities of an unequal power
relationship. The course ends with the synthesis of theories on conflict and
social structure and explores strategies for their applications to practice.
Class Information
Notes and Discussions
Class Notes and Reading
Issues and Themes
Kalidescope - Putting it all together
Student Papers
Resources and Links