In an increasingly fractured world, Middlebury has made a commitment to serve as an incubator for research, teaching, and student experiences to address divisiveness in society. Working with more than 100 partner institutions in the United States and around the world, Middlebury is working to embed principles and practices of conflict transformation in the liberal arts from high school to graduate school.
Many of us hear the word conflict and think of the stress and harm of “us versus them” dynamics, what Amanda Ripley calls high conflict. This sort of conflict can destroy relationships and communities; other forms of conflict, however, are not just essential but desirable. As John Paul Lederach describes, conflict can be a gift. Conflict helps keep relationships and social structures honest, alive, and responsive to human needs and aspirations.
For scholars, the field of conflict transformation (CT) explores how destructive conflicts can change and become relatively constructive. Importantly, it also involves the study of how people conduct themselves to foster such changes (Kriesberg 2009). The transformations that emerge might happen at the personal level (a change of heart), the structural level (a change in power), or somewhere in between.
As an area of practice, conflict transformation encompasses a wide array of work, from mindfulness and interpersonal relationships to international mediation and peacebuilding. We can each participate in conflict transformation if we start in the places we already inhabit.
The Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation seeks to learn lessons from this vast community that can be adapted to the issues and questions that are most pressing for Middlebury. The work we do—at the College, the Middlebury Institute, Bread Loaf, and Schools Abroad—will help build new networks and expand our ability to transform the world around us.
Laying a foundation and building structures for conflict transformation—from high school to undergraduate learning to graduate education and beyond.
Equipping students with civic skills to address the conflicts that arise in a diverse society.
Exploring self-awareness, restorative practices, dialogue, intercultural communication, and mediation.
Teaching how community structures and social systems contribute to conflict and ways to resolve it.
Researching effective solutions through original research and constructive debate within various professions.
Understanding the diverse forms of conflict in cultural, political, and geographic settings.
Supporting innovative faculty research projects involving students related to conflict transformation.
Come visit the Conflict Transformation Collaborative offices during Community Hours, Mondays 2-4 pm. Free snacks and drinks, good wifi, a growing library, and conversation with great CT interns and staff! We are in Marbleworks 203 (152 Maple Street).
Middlebury College
Open to the Public
Turning the lens of Earth Week to a small ethnic group in the far southwest corner of Ethiopia, Mark Overgaard will discuss his McCone Atrium Gallery exhibit and its parent project – The Eloquent Suri of Ethiopia: People, Culture, Art, Language. His portraits of Suri collaborators are complemented by touching, Suri-created illustrated stories of Suri life and their intimate communion with nature, drawn from literacy primers.
McCone Lobby Upstairs
Open to the Public
Prof. Wei Liang and Prof. Jeff Langholz will be in conversation about their local and global coursework and public engagement focused on water and conflict transformation. They will share personal and professional stories focused on social change, highlighting diverse modalities for engaging with audiences around the world.
Morse B104
Closed to the Public
