Broad-Scale Peace and Conflict Education: Star Wars and Conflict Resolution
Institutional Affiliation
Creighton University
Start Date
2-11-2023 3:30 PM
End Date
2-11-2023 5:00 PM
Proposal Type
Presentation
Proposal Format
Virtual
Proposal Description
Broad-Scale Peace and Conflict Education: Star Wars and Conflict Resolution
For decades, individuals and organizations in fields related to negotiation, peace studies, and conflict resolution have conducted educational outreach programs aimed at sharing the knowledge of these fields with the public at large. Everyone, the logic goes, could stand to learn more of what these fields have to offer; if they did, we might live in a more peaceable world. While these efforts have certainly yielded some gains, it is safe to say that those trained constitute but a drop the bucket of the world’s population. What strategies might these fields adopt for reaching broader audiences?
The Pop Culture and Conflict Resolution Project, jointly initiated by Noam Ebner of Creighon University and Prof. Jen Reynolds of the University of Oregon, aims to provide one answer to this challenge. Pop-culture provides ready-made audiences uniquely receptive to new ideas, if these are presented in the right format. In this session, Noam will introduce the project’s first outputs, Star Wars and Conflict Resolution (2022), and additional volumes on this topic currently in preparation. He will demonstrate some of the topics covered in the book, describe its impact on the conflict resolution field as well as its reception by the Star Wars fandom, and share lessons learned about addressing fandoms to be implemented in upcoming projects. Finally, Noam will encourage participants to ideate broad-audience educational projects of their own and (time permitting) provide a framework for considering them.
This proposal would fit well in a session dedicated to pedagogy, education, or public engagement.
Broad-Scale Peace and Conflict Education: Star Wars and Conflict Resolution
Broad-Scale Peace and Conflict Education: Star Wars and Conflict Resolution
For decades, individuals and organizations in fields related to negotiation, peace studies, and conflict resolution have conducted educational outreach programs aimed at sharing the knowledge of these fields with the public at large. Everyone, the logic goes, could stand to learn more of what these fields have to offer; if they did, we might live in a more peaceable world. While these efforts have certainly yielded some gains, it is safe to say that those trained constitute but a drop the bucket of the world’s population. What strategies might these fields adopt for reaching broader audiences?
The Pop Culture and Conflict Resolution Project, jointly initiated by Noam Ebner of Creighon University and Prof. Jen Reynolds of the University of Oregon, aims to provide one answer to this challenge. Pop-culture provides ready-made audiences uniquely receptive to new ideas, if these are presented in the right format. In this session, Noam will introduce the project’s first outputs, Star Wars and Conflict Resolution (2022), and additional volumes on this topic currently in preparation. He will demonstrate some of the topics covered in the book, describe its impact on the conflict resolution field as well as its reception by the Star Wars fandom, and share lessons learned about addressing fandoms to be implemented in upcoming projects. Finally, Noam will encourage participants to ideate broad-audience educational projects of their own and (time permitting) provide a framework for considering them.
This proposal would fit well in a session dedicated to pedagogy, education, or public engagement.