 |
Association of American Law Schools 2003 Annual Meeting Washington, D.C. Thursday, January 2 - Sunday, January 5, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Back to: Materials by: Speaker Materials by day: Friday Annual Meeting Home |
Friday, January 3, 2003 8:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Annual Meeting Workshop on Dispute Resolution: Raising the Bar and Enlarging the Canon
Enlarging the Canon Syllabus for Leonard L. Riskin
School of Law LL.M. in Dispute Resolution Program Fall 2002 nbsp
Syllabus for Aug. 24, 2002 Mondays 3:00-5:50 (most weeks) Instructor: In this course, which is a requirement in the LL.M. in dispute resolution curriculum, we will look at conflict more deeply and broadly than is typical in other dispute resolution courses. Our principal goal is to develop insights into conflict-its nature, functions, and possibilities-so that, in variety of roles, we can understand and handle it most productively and appropriately. The course will follow several tracks almost simultaneously, by inquiring into such questions as: 1. How do Aexperts@ and other people understand conflict? From various intellectual and cultural perspectives, what is the nature of conflict? How does it arise? What purposes can or does it serve? And how do, can, and should people and organizations address, resolve, use, and manage it? 2. How does each of us (members of the class), in our professional and private capacities, understand and deal with conflict? What features of our own personalities, backgrounds, training and perspectives limit and enhance our conflict-generating, conflict-handling, and conflict-avoiding behaviors? How can we do better? 3. What can be done to enhance the capacities of law students, lawyers, judges, negotiators, and dispute resolution neutrals-such as mediators-to deal with conflict more effectively and productively? What can education and training programs contribute? To what extent do the personalities of many lawyers and other professionals resist change? We will approach much of the learning in this course through attention to a number of themes, including the following: Inside and outside: What are the relationships between conflicts inside individuals and groups and conflicts between them and other individuals and groups? What is the role of personal and group identity in conflicts? Separation and connection. How do perceptions of self and other affect the development of conflict? Collaboration and competition. To what extent are these in tension? What does it mean to win? When and why is winning important? Class work The course work will involve. 1. Readings from (at least) three books (which are listed below on p. 4) and additional readings that will be available for purchase at the Copy Center in Brady Commons periodically. 2. Writing two papers. Each student will prepare two brief papers: -First paper: Roughly 8-13 pages, double spaced, in which you 1. describe a conflict involving identity issues in which you have been involved personally or professionally, or both; 2. analyze the conflict and how people understood it and dealt with it, using what you have learned in the course so far, and whatever else you'd like to use; and 3. speculate on how you might have understood or handled it differently or better (or might still understand or handle it differently or better). Subject to my advance approval, you may submit this paper at one of two times during the semester, as described below. Which time you choose will affect the assignment because we will have covered additional material by the second date; late option writers should include perspectives from Difficult Conversations. [Note: For both papers in this course, use footnotes to cite authority and follow format set forth in the "Blue Book," (A Uniform System of Citation). You need not do a perfect job of following this system, which can get complex, but you should be able to master its rules for books and articles.] First paper, early option: First drafts are due in the box outside my office by 4:00 on Friday, Oct. 11. Also by that time, give a paper copy of your paper to the classmate or classmates I have assigned to review your paper and email copies to all classmates. Designated commentators must submit their reviews (which should consist of markings on the document and/or a separate writing) to the authors and to me by 8:45 a.m. on Monday Oct. 14. Each written comment should include the names of the author of the paper and the commentator. We will discuss a few of these papers in class on Oct. 14. I will give the authors written comments as soon as I can. Final versions of these papers are due in class on Mon., Oct. 28. First paper, late option: First drafts are due in the box outside my office by 4:00 on Thurs., Oct. 31. Also by that time, give a copy of your paper to the classmate or classmates I have assigned to comment on your paper and send email copies to all class members. Commentators should submit their comments (which should consist of markings on the document and/or a separate writing) to the authors and to me by 8:45 a.m. on Mon., Nov. 4. Each written comment should include the names of the author of the paper and the commentator. Final drafts of the late option first paper are due in class on Mon., Nov. 11. Students who select the late option should include a focus that applies ideas from the book Difficult Conversations. -Second paper (book review). Roughly 12-15 pages. This is an analytical review of a book dealing with conflict or conflict resolution. I will give further instructions later. For now, you should try to select a book that holds great interest to you. Subject to my approval, you may choose a book from the recommended reading list for this course (below) or another book that will further your work. The review should include some references to related literature, including, if appropriate, materials we read in this class. Also subject to my approval, you should select a likely publication for this review and write to conform to its requirements; however, for purposes of this course, I would like you to follow the citation system set forth in the latest edition of the "Blue Book" (Uniform System of Citation). Written proposals for the second paper (book review) are due Friday, Oct. 11 by 4:00 in the box outside my office door. Proposals should contain the author, title, number of pages, date of publication, publisher, a brief description of the book and an explanation of why you want to review that book. I would be glad to discuss alternatives with you, either in person or in writing, before this date. First drafts will be due (hard copies to me--in the box outside my office--and to the designated commentators) with email copies to other classmembers on either Fri., Nov. 8, Fri., Nov. 15, or Fri., Nov. 29, in accordance with the schedule we develop in class. In making this schedule, I will endeavor to take into account whether each student's brief paper was the early option or late option. We will have presentations of these book review/papers during the last three classes (Nov. 11, Nov. 18, and Dec. 2.) Reviewers should submit their comments to the author and to me by 9:00 a.m. on the day the paper is to be presented. Revised final draft is due on the last day of the examination period, Friday, Dec. 14, by 4:00 in the box outside my office. The two papers will account for roughly 90% of the final grade. 3. Participating in class activities, including experiential exercises, discussions of the readings, and presentations. I will occasionally ask individual class members to make presentations on readings or to be especially prepared to discuss certain readings. Class participation will account for roughly 5-10% of your grade. Attendance is mandatory, so missing classes may affect your grade. 4. Maintaining a journal of your subjective reactions to certain of the course-related activities. I will make specific journal-writing assignments occasionally. I will not grade your journals, but will look for diligence. 5. Mindfulness training. Instruction in mindfulness meditation and practice sessions will make up a significant portion of the course. This aspect of this course is voluntary. If you have reservations about taking part, please talk to me. I can give you alternative work. Non-participation will not affect your grade-really. We will devote parts of most classes to instruction and practice in mindfulness meditation. Also know as insight or Vipassana meditation, this method derives from a 2,500-year-old Buddhist practice that has achieved great popularity in the Western world in recent times. In the past few years, for example, repeated training and practice sessions have been held for top executives at Monsanto; leading journalists; lawyers at Hale & Dorr, a large Boston law firm; and students at Yale Law School and Columbia Law School. It also has appeared in law school courses at the University of Denver and Suffolk University. Coach Phil Jackson used it with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers basketball teams. I have given programs on mindfulness to lawyers, law students, mediators, business executives, and members of the public. Although it derives from a Buddhist tradition, the method has been used extensively by practitioners of many other religions, especially Christianity (the Catholic Monk, Thomas Merton has written extensively about his use of this method) and Judaism. The practice can readily lead to stress reduction and improvements in concentration. I believe it also can help people, especially lawyers and mediators, understand themselves and others better and to deal more effectively with conflict. In some cases, it can have more profound impacts. The practice consists, first, of learning to concentrate and then applying that concentration to observing-- calmly and without judging--your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. I will explain this in greater detail in class. After the training sessions, I will encourage (but not require) you to try this practice at home and in your daily life. For further explanations, see Leonard L. Riskin, The Contemplative Lawyer: On the Potential Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation to Law Students, Lawyers, and their Clients, 7 Harv. Negot. L. Rev. 1-66 (copies of which are available from me) and http://www.pon.harvard.edu/news/2002/riskin_mindfulness.php3. Participation in this portion of the course is voluntary because I don't think it's appropriate, or even feasible, to force anyone to do this sort of thing. 6. Enneagram. We will devote one class session, with possible follow-ups, to study of the Enneagram, an ancient method of understanding personality types and the associated perceptual filters. This system is very helpful in promoting self-understanding, self-awareness and understanding of others, all of which are helpful in understanding and dealing with conflict. Two experts on the Enneagram, Robert Hodge, M.D., and Sandra Hodge, Ph.D., will lead this session. I may ask you to buy a short book for this activity. Readings Required books (available at the University Bookstore) Bernard Mayer, The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution: A Practitioner's Guide (2000). Doug Stone, Bruce Patton & Sheila Heen, Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (Viking 1999, hardcover) Vamik Vulkan, Blood Lines: From Ethnic Pride to Ethnic Terrorism (Westview 1997, paperback). Recommended (not required) books dealing with mindfulness Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion paperback, 1995). (A copy is on reserve.) Steven Keeva, Transforming Practices: Bringing Joy and Satisfaction into the Legal Life (Contemporary Books, 1999). (A copy is on reserve.) Books on Reserve The books listed below will be on reserve shortly after the semester begins. I may add other materials as the course develops. Sylvia Boorstein, Don't Just Do Something, Sit There (HarperSanFrancisco 1996). John Burton, Conflict Resolution and Provention (St. Martin's 1990). Kenneth Cloke & Joan Goldsmith, Resolving Conflicts at Work (2000). Kenneth Cloke, Resolving Personal and Organizational Conflict: Stories of Transformation and Forgiveness (Jossey-Bass 2000). Kenneth Cloke, Mediating Dangerously: The Frontiers of Conflict Resolution (Jossey-Bass 2001) Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (HarperPerennial 1990). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice (Morton Deutsch & Peter T. Coleman, eds., Jossey Bass 2000). Morton Deutsch, The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes(Yale 1973). Mark Epstein, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart (Broadway 1999). Mark Epstein, Thoughts without a Thinker (Basic Books, 1995). Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom (Shambala, 1994). Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ (Bantam 1995). Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English (Wisdom, 1991). Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living (1990 Delta paperback) Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are (Hyperion 1994). Robert Keegan, The Evolving Self (Harvard 1982). Robert Keegan, In Over Our Head: The Mental Demands of Modern Life (Harvard 1994). Steven Keeva, Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life (Contemporary Books, 1999). One copy is on reserve for this course. Three copies are on reserve for the Lawyering course taught by James Westbrook and Robert Bailey. You may borrow any of these books. Ellen Langer, Mindfulness (Addison-Wesley paperback 1990). Ellen Langer, The Power of Mindful Learning (Addison-Wesley 1997). Michelle LeBaron, Bridging Troubled Waters (To be published in August 2002; on order) Zindel V. Segal, et al., Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse (Guilford Press 2002; on order) Eckhardt Tolle, The Power of Now (New World Library 1999). (Ordered mid-August 2002). John Winslade & Gerald Monk, Narrative Mediation: A New Approach to Conflict Resolution (Jossey-Bass 2000). Schedule and Assignments (Tentative. Watch for Changes!)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home • Workshops and Conferences • 2002 Annual Meeting