Insight Conflict Resolution Program
The Insight Conflict Resolution Program (ICRP) is a center of theory, research and practice at S-CAR that is focused on developing the Insight approach to conflict analysis and resolution and applying it to transform deep rooted social conflict. ICRP started in 2010 with a grant from the Sargent Shriver Peace Institute. Sargent Shriver, the master peace builder who renewed trust in America through the Peace Corps and brought voice and agency to disenfranchised Americans through the War on Poverty, is its icon.
The Insight approach is a cutting edge contribution to the field. It uses Bernard Lonergan’s critical, reflexive philosophy as a framework for explaining what we are doing when we are in conflict and when we disengage from it. The Insight approach directs our attention and curiosity toward our operations of consciousness. It asks how the meanings we construct and the value we assign to those meanings pattern the decisions we make. The goal of ICRP is to articulate and implement a method in peacebuilding that can consistently and reliably enable the kind of social change that builds sustainable peace.
One focus of ICRP is the persistent problem of retaliatory violence, especially pertaining to retaliatory homicide in the United States. Retaliatory homicide is a problem that not only affects individuals that are involved in the violence but also the communities surrounding these regrettable, preventable events. In January of 2012, ICRP started working on the Retaliatory Violence Insight Project (RVIP). ICRP, through a grant provided by the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, has set out to develop retaliatory violence interventions with law enforcement based on the Insight approach. RVIP focuses its research and practice in two cities in the United States: Lowell, Massachusetts and Memphis, Tennessee. Megan Price, a Ph.D student at S-CAR, is the current Director of ICRP and also contributing to the Retaliatory Violence Insight Project. Dr. Jamie Price, along with Megan and Frederick Johnson of Intersections International travel to these neighborhoods and bring along with them the Insight approach to help these areas tackle retaliatory violence. By looking at the dilemma of retaliatory violence through an Insight lens, Dr. Jamie Price and Megan hope to help change retaliatory dynamics within these struggling communities.
ICRP has planned many engaging events throughout the semester. On September 18th,
Megan presented an “Introduction to the Insight Approach to Conflict Resolution” at the Center for Peacemaking Practice (CPP) Lunch, where a background on the Insight approach was described, followed by a discussion on its applications in the conflict analysis and resolution field.
The following week, on September 25th, ICRP launched its Insight Practice Lab. All students and faculty were welcome to join ICRP in learning, practicing and refining their Insight skills. Insight Practice Lab sessions will continue every other Tuesday following the launch in Truland Building room 555 from 12-2pm.
Dr. Jamie Price of S-CAR and Marnie Jull of Carleton University in Ottawa will also be teaching a class, Insight Micro-Skills or CONF 795, during the Fall 2012 semester at S-CAR. During the weekend of October 12th and the following four Wednesdays from 7:00-9:00pm, this one-credit integrated theory and practice class will teach students conflict resolution skills in interpersonal mediation, group facilitation and action research for social intervention.
The Insight Conflict Resolution Program can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (703)-993-8305.