Discussing Conflict and its Causes
Underlying Causes of Conflict
Directions: Read the short paragraphs and then answer the discussion questions on your Blog/Website in a Page entitled "Underlying Causes of Conflict" and with 3 subtitles called Society, Human Needs, and Language and Behavior. Be ready to share your writing in class on Monday, July 11th.
Society
The way a society is organised can create both the root causes of conflict and the conditions in which it's likely to occur. Any society which is organised so that some people are treated unequally and unjustly is likely to erupt into conflict, especially if its leaders don't represent all the members of that society. If an unequal and unjust society is reformed, then conflicts will be rare.
Reflection and Discussion 1:
Write about the society you know best - your community, your neighborhood, your school, your college, your workplace - and how it is organised. Can you see likely causes for conflict? Or can you see how the chance of conflict has been lessened by any particular arrangement?
Human Needs
Human beings have basic needs. Everyone needs to be recognized as an individual with a personal identity; everyone needs to be able to feel safe. If these needs aren't met, people protest, and protesting can lead to rebellion and violence. Many people find their identity and security in their cultural group and its particular point of view - so clashes between different cultural groups also lead to disputes that can easily turn violent. If people learn to understand that differing cultures are not inevitably a threat to each other, they will also learn how to manage their differences co-cooperatively and peacefully.
Reflection and Discussion 2:
Write a reflection on this topic: How does your particular cultural group help you have a sense of self and safety? Does this mean being hostile to people of other cultural groups? When people of one group have friends in another, are they made to feel that their loyalty is divided?
Language and Behavior
One aspect of culture is particularly important: it can create language and behavior that excludes people, creating 'us/them', 'insider/outsider' situations and using language of discrimination, intolerance and hate. If people create a society that doesn't see 'difference' and 'diversity' as problems but as valuable for social growth, many causes of conflict disappear.
Reflection and Discussion 3:
Write about the language and behavior that people use to reject and insult others - the language of prejudice. Has your part of society welcomed 'difference and diversity'?
Directions: Read the short paragraphs and then answer the discussion questions on your Blog/Website in a Page entitled "Underlying Causes of Conflict" and with 3 subtitles called Society, Human Needs, and Language and Behavior. Be ready to share your writing in class on Monday, July 11th.
Society
The way a society is organised can create both the root causes of conflict and the conditions in which it's likely to occur. Any society which is organised so that some people are treated unequally and unjustly is likely to erupt into conflict, especially if its leaders don't represent all the members of that society. If an unequal and unjust society is reformed, then conflicts will be rare.
Reflection and Discussion 1:
Write about the society you know best - your community, your neighborhood, your school, your college, your workplace - and how it is organised. Can you see likely causes for conflict? Or can you see how the chance of conflict has been lessened by any particular arrangement?
Human Needs
Human beings have basic needs. Everyone needs to be recognized as an individual with a personal identity; everyone needs to be able to feel safe. If these needs aren't met, people protest, and protesting can lead to rebellion and violence. Many people find their identity and security in their cultural group and its particular point of view - so clashes between different cultural groups also lead to disputes that can easily turn violent. If people learn to understand that differing cultures are not inevitably a threat to each other, they will also learn how to manage their differences co-cooperatively and peacefully.
Reflection and Discussion 2:
Write a reflection on this topic: How does your particular cultural group help you have a sense of self and safety? Does this mean being hostile to people of other cultural groups? When people of one group have friends in another, are they made to feel that their loyalty is divided?
Language and Behavior
One aspect of culture is particularly important: it can create language and behavior that excludes people, creating 'us/them', 'insider/outsider' situations and using language of discrimination, intolerance and hate. If people create a society that doesn't see 'difference' and 'diversity' as problems but as valuable for social growth, many causes of conflict disappear.
Reflection and Discussion 3:
Write about the language and behavior that people use to reject and insult others - the language of prejudice. Has your part of society welcomed 'difference and diversity'?