Welcome
Introduction to the Virtual Resource Center
VRC Staff and Partners
VRC Staff
Cynthia Cohen, Ph.D., directs the Creative Approaches to Coexistence and Reconciliation inquiry. She directs coexistence research and international collaborations for the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence, manages the development of research and action partnerships with coexistence organizations around the world and the involvement of Brandeis students and faculty in those partnerships. She also teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Cindy was the founding director of the Oral History Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has facilitated coexistence efforts involving participants from the Middle East, the United States, Central America, and Sri Lanka. She holds a Ph.D. in education from the University of New Hampshire, and a Masters in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the director of an international fellowship program Recasting Reconciliation Through Culture and the Arts. Cindy is the author of Working with Integrity: A Guidebook for Peacebuilders Asking Ethical Questions. She writes on the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of reconciliation, and has published related chapters and articles in conflict resolution, women's studies, and education.
Barbara Epstein, program administrator for the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence, manages the administrative systems and development strategy of the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence. Prior to joining Slifka she was senior program associate of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leadership Program, where she managed a technical assistance program and staffed the awards selection process. From 1994-2003 she was a freelance consultant at Abt Associates, Inc., where her work included projects in community revitalization, education, homeless housing, and workforce development. Epstein holds an MSW in clinical social work from Smith College and a BA from Brandeis. For the past nine years she has led the Arsenal Center for the Arts as board president in a project to finance, build and operate a performing, visual, and literary arts center in Watertown, MA.
VRC Partners
In addition to Creative Approaches to Coexistence and Reconciliation , the Slifka Program includes two academic programs: a Masters Program in Coexistence and Conflict, directed by Dr. Mari Fitzduff, and an undergraduate minor in Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies, directed by Dr. Gordie Fellman. It also hosts Coexistence International, a project devoted to strengthening the coexistence field and promoting a complementary, interdisciplinary approach to social transformation.
The Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence is part of Brandeis University's International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life. The Center also houses a program in international justice and sponsors a range of programs on the Brandeis University campus.
Theatre Without Borders is a web-based network devoted to international theatre exchange. Our theatre and peacebuilding project is undertaken in partnership with them, as part of Coexistence International's campaign to strengthen and diversify the coexistence field. Creative Approaches to Coexistence and Reconciliation collaborates with several departments and programs at Brandeis University, including MusicUnitesUS, the Master's Program in Cultural Production, and the Office of the Arts.
For further information about the VRC or the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence, please send us a message using the comment form below, or contact us at:
Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence
Brandeis University -- MS 086
PO Box 549110
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
Phone: 781-736-5001
Fax: 781-736-8561
Email: coexistence@brandeis.edu
We hope this site contributes to your understanding and your work. We welcome your comments and suggestions!