Tending to the Roots of Conflict in a Divided World

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THIS WORK (OCT 6)

In our first session, we’ll begin to get to know one another, co-create our community agreements, review the approach and process we’ll move through in the following weeks, and set personal and collective intentions for this experience. This session will set the foundation for the work we’ll do together: examining the recursive relationship between self-suppression and systems of oppression, i.e. how the disconnect within becomes the divide between, and vice versa.

BLOOD, BONES, & BIOLOGY: INHERITED TRAUMA (OCT 13)

In week 2, we explore the role of the body in our relationships with ourselves, each other, and the wider world around us. We examine how epigenetics, historical, intergenerational, and personal trauma, and our nervous system patterns become stored in the memory of our cells, blood, and bones. We unpack how our biology can play a significant role in limiting our capacity for connection, navigating conflict, and remaining open to dialogue in the face of perceived threat.

SELF-SUPPRESSION AND THE CONFLICT WITHIN (OCT 20)

This week, we unpack the way pieces and parts of us become denied or disowned through the internalization of social norms and cultural conditioning, creating a conflict between who we really are and how we present ourselves to the world. We consider how the shadow—the aspects of ourselves we are not consciously aware of—governs our lived experience, including the beliefs we hold about ourselves and others, the protective patterns that show up in our relationships, and the survival strategies we employ to stay safe in an unjust world.

PROJECTION AND THE CONFLICT BETWEEN (OCT 27)

In week 4, we explore how unconscious beliefs and behaviors, which live and breathe through biology, shape our relational dynamics and patterns. We examine the role projection plays in judgement, resentment, blame, and how it holds up a mirror to the pieces and parts of us that have been denied or disowned through our sociocultural programming. This module will highlight how unresolved patterns get repeated in our relationships, how the externalization of inner conflict can contribute to power-over dynamics, and what’s required to break the cycle.

OTHERING, DEHUMANIZATION, & COLLECTIVE CONFLICT (NOV 3)

This week we begin to translate the micro into the macro—small is all. We explore how our biology, shadows, and relational dynamics become the field from which dehumanization, demonization, and othering emerge. We consider historical examples and case studies of large-scale conflict in the world and how they reflect the same patterns that show up within and between us on a small-scale. Together, we’ll examine how cycles of harm can be repeated across generations and why the abused sometimes becomes the abuser, or how the oppressed can, under certain conditions, go on to replicate and reproduce the oppression they've experienced.

COMPASSION, ACCOUNTABILITY, & JUSTICE (NOV 10)

In week 6, we begin to unpack the big questions that arise from this work. Together, we explore the terrain between and beyond binaries—us/them, good/bad, oppressed/oppressor—that oftentimes unsettling space where nuance and complexity collide with moral clarity and conviction. We consider the role of compassion in conflict, not to justify injustice, but to deepen our understanding of its origins and what is required for its resolution. We’ll explore accountability and responsibility in the context of harm, and draw parallels between our personal experiences and the broader dynamics of oppression on a collective scale.

REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS & IMPLICATIONS (NOV 17)

What do we do with all we’ve come to understand? This week, we consider the real-world applications of the insights that have emerged through this experience. We will explore how we can translate our personal awareness into context-sensitive approaches for facilitating dialogue, repair, or reconciliation in our lives as well as on a wider scale. How might a deeper understanding of biology, shadow, projection, and the dynamics of conflict inform the ways we approach mediation, bridge-building, and other efforts to create meaningful change?

BREAKING CYCLES TO BUILD BETTER FUTURES (NOV 24)

In our final gathering, learners will share their personal projects and together, we’ll reflect on overall learnings, identify our key takeaways, and set intentions for how we’ll carry this work forward in our lives and leadership. We’ll return to the central question of the course: how do we break cycles of harm in the micro and the macro to build the world and future we envision?