Supplement for Conflict Studies
Majors or Minors
in Professor Thomas Hall's classes
DEPAUW UNIVERSITY
SPRING 2009
Professor Thomas Hall
Office:  106 Asbury Hall, x4519, email:  thall
OFFICE HOURS:  TuTr 11-12, 2:30-4, & by appt.
Last Updated 1-11-09

For further information on Conlflict Studies Program see DePauw catalog, its web page, myself [Prof. Hall], or Conflict Studies Coordinator, Professor Rebecca Upton [221 Asbury Hall].

Conflict studies requires students to take courses in different disciplines that focus on conflict. Virtually all my courses do this in one way or another. In our continuing efforts to make the Conflict Studies Program better each instructor has Conflict Studies students either do something extra, or more typically, something different from the rest of the class.

For my courses -- Soc 100D Contemporary Society and Soc 301A Globalization: The Long View-- I will ask conflict studies students to emphasize conflict issues in their written assignments. I also encourage Conflict Studies students to bring out conflict issues in discussions. This is valuable for each of you, but also for the class as a whole.

• Issues include at least the following:

• What is Conflict?

  • Is it individual?

  • Small group?

  • Large group?

  • Institutional?

  • etc?

  • all of the above?

• What factors contribute to:

  • likelihood of conflict?

  • to changes in intensity of conflict?

  • to length of conflict?

• Also think about is conflict always bad?

• Can it sometimes be good?

• other issues?

Do your answers to any of the above, reinforce, amend, contradict, complement, or supplement answers to similar questions in other Conflict Studies courses you have taken? [Note: not all CFT students will answer any of these questions the same way. That is fine. The important thing is to think about them!]

that discusses the factors that contribute to OR lessen the likelihood, intensity, and/or duration of conflict.  

I do NOT require, but STRONGLY URGE, all conflict studies students to make efforts in classroom discussions and in written work, to tie the material in my courses to materials in their other Conflict Studies courses. This can be by noting how new topics are covered, or how familiar topics are seen from a different angle, or it reconfirms other courses, or how it contradicts other courses. You should also think in terms of how the materials in my course[s] help you understand conflict better OR make it more confusing.

My point is NOT what position you take, but that you actively work at integrating your course work. This is vital to your fulfilling the major. And, because Conflict Studies students take different courses, this cannot be done by any instructor, but must be done by you, the student. I will help you with it if you ask me. This, however, is a continuing process, NOT an assignment that you do once then file away.

Doing this in my course[s] [and indeed, in all your courses] will make your senior seminar MUCH EASIER, and much more fun.

Send comments or questions to thall@depauw.edu