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ICAR Loses Cherished Friends: John Burton, Wallace Warfield, Elise Boulding This summer saw us lose three individuals who, in various important ways, influenced the way we at the Institute think about and work in our chosen field of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Elise Boulding, a long time friend of, and inspiration to, ICAR, taught us that history was important but particularly history viewed from the perspective of neglected groups – women particularly, but also minorities and the exploited of all descriptions. |
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Putting Theory into Practice in Africa: ICAR Liberia Field Study, June 2010This past summer, thirteen students – seven undergraduates and six graduates – along with faculty advisors Patricia Maulden and Lisa Shaw, traveled to Liberia to participate in a hands-on field experience. During their stay, students and faculty immersed themselves in the post-conflict context, working directly with local NGO personnel and community members in three parts of the country: Monrovia (the capital), Tubmanberg in Bomi County, and Buchanan in Grand Bassa County. The work was neither glamorous nor comfortable; it was, however, extremely difficult and potentially life changing. As one student commented, “We laughed. Some of us cried. Five of us survived a flood in a small town where it never floods. We were annoyed with some of what we were seeing. We were frustrated when solutions seemed so simple yet so out of reach. We felt a lot in just a... |
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Facilitating Cross Cultural Exchange: ICAR Hosts the Ben Franklin Summer Institute for AsiaGeorge Mason’s Fairfax campus was bustling with thirty six youths aged sixteen to eighteen years old from Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and throughout the United States this past summer as they took part in the ICAR hosted Ben Franklin Summer Institute for Asia (BFSIA). Sponsored by the Youth Programs Division, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State and the Public Affairs Sections of the U.S. Embassies, the program brought together young persons from these South and Central Asian countries for the first time to help the students develop global perspectives, intercultural understanding, knowledge of worldwide social issues, leadership skills, and a dedication to community service while building cross-cultural relationships. |
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ICAR Welcome Dinner: Celebration, Reflection and Community In September 11, 2010, ICAR marked this notable anniversary by holding its annual Welcome Dinner, inviting another intake of hopeful conflict resolvers to join its growing community. |
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Citizen Diplomacy in Jerusalem: Historic CRDC Field Study TripIn late May and early June, Professor Marc Gopin, Aziz Abu Sarah, and the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) led a first of its kind 'Citizen Diplomacy Seminar' in Jerusalem, taking 15 students from George Mason, George Washington, and American Universities to visit Israel and Palestine. Following on the heels of the dramatically successful visit to Damascus the winter before (a course that was co-led by Syrian Hind Kabawat), this course broke new ground in its approach and impact. Based upon the foundation of Dr. Gopin’s book “To Make The Earth Whole,” this trip was categorically different from typical trips to the region. While students were... |
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In Memoriam, Dr. John W. Burton, 1915 - 2010: Always Ahead of His Time.On June 23, 2010, one of the leading figures in the field of conflict analysis and resolution, and a former member of the ICAR Faculty, Professor John W. Burton, DSc., Ph.D., passed away at his home in Australia. Professor Burton’s contributions to the field were unique in that he pioneered both conceptual and practical conflict-handling approaches to intractable, identity-based conflicts and their resolution. On the conceptual side, Prof. Burton developed a theory on the etiology of violent conflict that highlighted the frustration of basic human needs (BHNs) for identity, recognition, and security as precursors to the emergence of violent conflict. On the practical side, he developed the problemsolving approach to... |
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In Memoriam, Dr. Elise Boulding, 1920 - 2010. Born Elise Marie Biorn-Hansen in Norway, Elise Boulding's life long commitment to the resolution of conflict stemmed from early experiences of war and peace. Although her family emigrated to the United States when Elise was three years old, her home-sick mother repeated stories that conceptualized Norway as a safe haven. Elise shared her mother's nostalgia until 1940, when this vision was shattered by the Nazi invasion of their homeland. “And that was when I realized that there was no safe place on earth,” she said, “and I knew that I had found my life’s mission.” |
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In Memoriam, Dr. Wallace Warfield, 1938 - 2010. Wallace Pinn Warfield was born in New York in 1938. After graduating from Howard University he went on to receive a Master's degree in public administration from a Washington D.C.-based program of the University of Southern California in 1962. |