Publications

"The Brandeis Initiative in Intercommunal Coexistence: A Multi-faceted Comprehensive Approach to Improving Intergroup Relations," with Marcia McPhee, in Walter Stephan and Paul Vogt, eds., Education Programs for Improving Intergroup Relations: Theory, Research and Practice. 2004. Teachers College Press.

Brandeis Intercultural Residency Series 2005-06 Assessment Report, Cynthia Cohen and Judith Eissenberg, 2006. A self-evaluation of the inaugural year of the Intercultural Residency Series, which brings to Brandeis University artists of high accomplishment from around the world for a few days each semester. The goal of these residencies is to promote cultural exchange and intellectual inquiry through understanding and appreciation of diverse artistic traditions. PDF format.

Catholics, Jews, and the Prism of Conscience: Response to James Carroll's Constantine's Sword,
Sylvia Fuks Fried and Daniel Terris, eds., 2001. The Brandeis Forum, "Catholics, Jews, and the Prism of Conscience," was held at Brandeis in 2001 to coincide with the publication of James Carroll's book Constantine's Sword. The forum brought together historians, theologians, activists, and writers—Catholic and Jewish, Lutheran and Muslim—who brought to their readings of Constantine's Sword a wide variety of methods, approaches and perspectives. The forum was cosponsored by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, and by the Bernard G. and Rhoda G. Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness. Forum participants include Kanan Makiya, Eva Fleischner, Irving Greenberg, James Carroll, Arthur Green, Eugene Fisher, Robert Wistrich, Donald Dietrich, and Paul Mendes-Flohr. For reflections on the symposium and for more information on how to access the complete publication that emerged from the forum, please see Catholics, Jews, and the Prism of Conscience in the Brandeis Review edited by Sylvia Fuks Fried and Daniel Terris. PDF Format.

Coexistence at Brandeis: Reflections and Recommendations April 2002, by Cynthia Cohen. The Preliminary report from the Brandeis Initiative in Intercommunal Coexistence (BIIC) to the Brandeis community. It is intended to illuminate issues of coexistence at the university and to encourage conversation about them. This report has been read by many members of the faculty and administration at Brandeis as they planned initiatives to strengthen inter-group relations on campus. PDF format.

Community Histories by Youth in the Middle East (CHYME), 2004. A program in cooperation with MASAR (Jordan), Givat Haviva (Israel), and the Palestinian House of Friendship (PNA) to build capacity within a cohort of exemplary youth leaders, enabling them to design and implement cross-border community research projects. PDF Format (80 pages, 493 KB)

Creative Approaches to Coexistence, Reconciliation, and Development, 2005. A guide to creative approaches to coexistence and reconciliation for individuals or organizations preparing to do community-based development in conflict regions. Distilled from the lessons found in the working papers and portfolios of Recasting Reconciliation through Culture and the Arts as well as other projects of the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence. PDF format.

"Creative Approaches to Reconciliation," Cynthia Cohen, in The Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts: From War to Peace, edited by Mari Fitzduff and Christopher E. Stout. ISBN #0-275-98201-7. Copyright © December 2005. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission of Greenwood Publishing Group Inc., Westport, CT. PDF format.

Ethics Center Student Fellowship (ECSF) - Internship Summaries documenting the summer service projects that Brandeis sophomores and juniors conduct in conflict regions around the world.

"Engaging with the Arts to Promote Coexistence," Cynthia Cohen, in Martha Minow and Antonia Chayes, eds., Imagine Coexistence: Restoring Humanity After Violent Ethnic Conflict. 2003. PDF format.

Global Partnerships for Education, Stephanie Gerber, 2002. Brandeis faculty and students worked with partners in Haifa, Grenada, and Chelsea, Massachusetts. This project was built on one premise: coexistence between divided peoples depends not just on dialogue, but also on a shared understanding of cultural diversity. PDF format.

Literary Responses to Mass Violence, 2004. A collection of the presentations made during the symposium of the same name. Selections include the work of the poets who attended the event and reflections on the themes addressed in the symposium. Authors include Ilana Rosen, Peter Dale Scott, Taha Muhammad Ali, Antjie Krog, Rachel Talshir, Yigal Schwartz, and Eugene Goodheart.

Parallel Narratives: Slifka Scholars, Naomi Safran-Hon. A photo essay profiling five of the six Slifka Scholars, students who have come to Brandeis University after being involved in coexistence work between Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians in Israel. In each year, one Jewish Israeli student and one Palestinian (Arab) Israeli student is selected. PDF format.

"Recasting Reconciliation through Culture and the Arts,"by Cynthia Cohen, in forthcoming anthology of success stories to be published by the Alliance for Peacebuilding. PDF format.

Working with Groups in Conflict: The Effects of Power on the Dynamics of the Group, by Cynthia Cohen and Farhart Agbaria. September 2000. PDF format.

Working with Integrity: A Guidebook for Peacebuilders Asking Ethical Questions, by Cynthia Cohen, 2001. A resource for people who promote coexistence and further reconciliation in historically divided communities. It is designed to engage its users in practicing an approach to ethical inquiry that is well suited to the kinds of dilemmas and questions that arise in the work of building peace.

Other Resources

(Organized chronologically by most recent)

Making Peace Where I Live
Making Peace Where I Live is a curriculum and teacher's guide created by peace educators. It equips 12 to 14 year-olds to find within their communities people who offer diverse models of nonviolent conflict resolution and cultural resources for peaceful ways of living. Students create oral histories and develop a multifaceted view of peace that includes respect and dignity for all persons, stewardship of our resources, and striving toward justice and equality. PDF format

Telling the Story: Power and Responsibility in Documenting Human Rights Violations
The intent of Telling the Story was to analyze, over a two-day period (Sept. 15-16, 2005), the process by which human rights violations are documented and the reasons they are made public. The conference brought together practitioners who produce or use documentation of violations – such as journalists, filmmakers, artists, human rights reporters, forensic specialists, and legal practitioners – with scholars who approach it from theoretical perspectives – such as legal scholars, women's studies scholars, and anthropologists. HTML format

"Peace and Conflict in Africa: Reflections from an African Peacebuilder"
On November 15 and 16, 1999, The International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life sponsored two presentations by Dr. Hizkias Assefa, a scholar, author, mediator, and international peacebuilding practitioner. He coordinates the African Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Network from Nairobi and is a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. The transcripts of these talks, collectively titled "Peace and Conflict in Africa: Reflections from an African Peacebuilder," and their corresponding Q&A sessions are available below.

Part One: Conflicts in Africa: Causes, Dynamics and Implications for the Emerging Global Order (PDF)
In recent decades, the African continent has witnessed violent conflict unprecedented in its pervasiveness, its intensity, and its apparent intractability. What are the underlying sources and patterns of these conflicts? Are the conflict patterns unique to the continent or do they illustrate a wider phenomena in the emerging global order? What sensibilities might animate linkages between citizens of the global North and global South, as they seek to address both the root causes and the effects of violent conflict in Africa? In this presentation, Dr. Hizkias Assefa comments on the emerging global order as it appears from the perspective of one who works for peace on the African continent.

Part Two: Patterns of Peace and Peacebuilding in Africa: Lessons and Reflections (PDF)
Based on his extensive practice as a mediator, trainer, and peacemaker working in conflict regions throughout Africa, Dr. Hizkias Assefa discusses the approaches to peacemaking and peacebuilding that are being utilized in Africa today. He assesses the relative effectiveness of each, illustrating some of the new and emerging methodologies with examples drawn from his own practice.

Coexistence and the Quest for Justice: Brandeis International Fellowships 1998–2002
In 1998, sixteen individuals were selected from the Balkans, the Middle East, South Africa, and Sri Lanka to participate in the Brandeis International Fellowship themed Coexistence and the Quest for Justice. The goal of the 1998 program was to encourage a cross-cultural process of reflection on coexistence methods and to stimulate consideration of the ethical dimensions of coexistence work. For more information about the Fellows' projects, please see www.brandeis.edu/ethics/bif/bif_1998/projects.html.

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