This Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution course examines various ways and practices through which post-conflict societies deal with a contentious past. We will visit two post-conflict societies in the Balkans, Serbia and Kosovo, and learn on the ground how the politics of collective remembering impacts the dynamics of relationships among different ethnic groups.

The course will travel to Tbilisi and Sukhum/i and will allow students to meet with a wide range of experts, including academics, practitioners, and officials in both locations. Formal meetings with representatives of governmental, non-governmental, and academic organizations will aim at developing a more detailed understanding of the multifaceted issues affecting societies in conflict. Focusing on different areas of this conflict, students will analyze conflict dynamics and conflict resolution approaches utilized in attempts to address them. The program will also aim at providing background to changes experienced in Tbilisi and Sukhum/i since the fall of the Soviet Union, ethnic and political tensions there, and aftermath of conflicts, while examining potential alternatives to current political impasses.

One of the main themes of the course is the tension between realpolitik, structural, basic human needs, and a variety of other attempts to explain conflict dynamics. These divergent approaches will be compared and contrasted in light of economic, political, anthropological, psychological, historical, and cultural insights into these conflicts. The implications of these various explanations will be considered in relation to different approaches to conflict resolution practice. Students will engage with local peers, while attending lectures by regional experts and meetings with governmental and non-governmental actors, engaged in conflict analysis and resolution efforts.