Cultural differences, as has been said, can contribute to misunderstandings, misinterpretations, misperceptions, and miscommunication, all of which can exacerbate conflict or reduce the chances of conflict being resolved. In many conflict situations, the parties fail to understand what these differences are and how they bear on the process itself and resolution of the conflict. What can you do to improve this situation, fraught with the danger of undermining any resolution of conflict? Certainly one, if not the most potent answer, is to understand how and be aware of the degree to which culture plays a role in conflict and conflict resolution, and then to act on this awareness and understanding accordingly. Chapter 28 in your text addresses the first half of this equation: awareness and understanding; Chapter 29 addresses the second: acting on the awareness and understanding which plays out in adopting a multicultural perspective of conflict resolution.
To prepare for this assignment:
• Select a conflict to use for this Assignment. It may be your Final Project conflict or another that interests you. It may be current or historical, and one which you know about personally or from the media.
• Review Chapter 27 in the course text, The Handbook of Conflict Resolution, paying particular attention to the theory and concepts for intercultural communication and their implications for conflict resolution. Also focus on the meaning, value, and implications of adopting a multicultural perspective in conflict resolution.
The assignment: (500 word minimum)
• Briefly describe the conflict that you selected for this Assignment, its central issues, and the parties involved.
• Explain what a multicultural perspective of conflict resolution is and how, specifically, it could contribute to the resolution of conflict, both in general and specifically with your conflict. Support your explanation with examples.
• Briefly describe two intercultural communication theoretical constructs or concepts, the awareness and understanding of which you think would be most significant in their effect on conflict, in general and specifically with your conflict. Explain how and why this awareness and understanding might improve the chances of the conflict being resolved and/or mitigate the negative aspects of the conflict. Reference the concepts and theories from your Learning Resources, and use specific examples from your conflict to illustrate