Concentrations
To meet the requirements for the MA in Conflict Analysis and Management, students must complete 36 credits of course and project work over two residential semesters and two distance semesters. The MA program consists of core courses and specialized courses in the student’s area of concentration. The core program covers the basic theoretical knowledge and exposure to the practical skills that are useful in analyzing conflicts of all types.
When applying for Admission to the program, applicants must select an area of concentration, as well as an alternative. Students may not change areas of concentration once admitted to the program. Students should note that in the event of insufficient enrolment, the university reserves the right to not offer a particular concentration in a given year. The following are general descriptions of the various areas of specialization or concentration:
Political, Ethnic and Security Issues
This concentration is focused on situations at the international, national, and community level where national and cultural groups are in conflict over such issues as territory, human and civil rights, natural resources, or the nature of the political community. Typically, contending parties are defined in part by ethnic and cultural terms (including race, language, religion, and traditions), and the conflicts involve violence or the threat of violence. Conflict management processes are often not well institutionalized.
Specialty Courses: CAMN 510, CAMN 650
Environmental Conflict
This concentration recognizes that the new realities in Canada and other parts of the world are that environmental regulatory, program and policy decisions are not made in isolation from groups who have a stake in the outcome. Resolving the competing interests of these groups is helped by the development of a consensus process. This process is one in which all those who have a stake in the outcome aim to reach agreement on actions and outcomes that resolve or advance issues of importance to the parties. In a consensus process, participants work together to design a system that maximizes their ability to resolve their differences. This encourages discourse and understanding among the parties, and creates a forum in which the importance of reconciling competing interests is both understood and addressed. This stream will focus on ways in which consensus can be reached through a variety of multiple party mechanisms.
Specialty Courses: CAMN 512, CAMN 662
Organizational Conflict
This concentration recognizes that conflict is a common occurrence - in organizational life, between individuals, in work teams, between departments, levels and units, and at the highest levels of policy development and strategic planning. This concentration seeks to increase understanding of the various forms of organizational conflict, and to impart effective methods for managing it productively, while increasing its potential for constructive organizational change and optimal functioning. Conflict management methods evidence considerable variety and are undergoing rapid development in such areas as mediation services, alternative dispute resolution systems, training and development programs, and internal consulting teams.
Specialty Courses: CAMN 514 and CAMN 680
Community and School Conflict
This concentration focuses on the deep-rooted causes of conflict in our communities, on the school grounds, and in the classroom. Participants will be challenged to explore questions of central importance to our communities and schools, examining the factors that lead to violent and aggressive behaviours and analyzing underlying issues of power asymmetries and the clash of values, worldviews, rights, interest and needs.
Specialty Courses: CAMN 513 and CAMN 675
