News & Archive

(October 11, 2002)

Wednesday, October 16, 2002

Carrie Menkel-Meadow, Professor of Law at Georgetown Law Center; Director, Georgetown-Hewlett Program on Conflict Resolution and Legal Problem Solving; and Chair, CPR-Georgetown Commission on Ethics and Standards in ADR will discuss her current work on applying conflict resolution theory and practice to problems of democracy and participation in political and policy issues. Many mediators serve as consensus building professionals, whether in formally constructed consensus building events, or in more informal meeting, organizational and professional development facilitation. Professor Menkel-Meadow will focus on how different kinds of processes (e.g., expert-professional or group generated groundrules, private or public meetings) affect outcomes and how conflict resolution professionals need to combine conflict resolution theory and practice with attention to democratic theory and practice. The use of different kinds of processes, techniques and interventions in different settings (both process rules and decision rules and different ethical concerns in various contexts) will be explored. With time, we will also talk about the different responsibilities of individuals and organizations providing conflict resolution services.

Following Professor Menkel-Meadow's talk will be a Peervision case conference, in which Jay Uhler will explore four central issues confronting the dispute resolution professional: the difficulties of remaining neutral, of dealing with our own emotional reactions to one or both parties, of listening to a disputant whose views are drastically different from our own, and of responding constructively to someone we dislike. Discussion will be grounded in the hypothetical case of a mediation between President George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein.

Time and Place

Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Pound 335 -- interactive map here
DRF: 8:30 a.m. (Continental Breakfast at 8:00)
Peervision Case Conference: 10:10-11:30 a.m.

RSVP is necessary