Course Syllabus

Identity Lab: Transforming Prejudice, Discrimination, and Conflict 

Semester & Location:

Spring 2020 - DIS Copenhagen

Type & Credits:

Elective Course - 3 credits

Major Disciplines:

Psychology, Sociology, Political Science

Faculty Members:

S. Salman Ahmad, Ph.D. - sah@dis.dk  

Program Director:

Lars Rossen

Program Assistant:

Jennifer Finkelsten - jfi@dis.dk   

Time & Place:

Mondays, 14.50-17.45, Room N7-C23

 


Course Information and Purpose

Course Description:

In this course, we will explore the dynamics of identity and of identity-based tensions and conflicts in human systems.

One of the major problems in the world today is the conflict of identities – be they of religion, culture, race, or country. Such conflicts are often rooted in an exclusive sense of self and therefore a solution to resolve such conflicts may lie in the emergence of truly inclusive identities. Applying cutting-edge research on identity and subjective experience, this experiential lab will explore and evolve identity-related processes that could transform prejudice, discrimination and conflict.

As identity is shaped and maintained by a number of forces, the lab will take a multidisciplinary approach rooted in social sciences and the humanities drawing from self and identity studies, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology and existentialism – particularly the shaping of subjective experience, and the dynamics of collective and political behavior. The lab has an applied focus, i.e., translating theory into practice. As such, we will use practical tools such as narrative exchange, appreciative inquiry and design thinking in creating processes and strategies that could solve problems of identity-based conflicts. We will work with surfacing the assumptions that create conflict and reconstructing these, testing and expanding boundaries of self and transforming the subjective experience of ‘I’ and ‘we’ to include the ‘other’ within one’s notion of ‘us’.

 

Course Objectives:

  • To analyse and evaluate theories around identity with specific focus on its relationship to prejudice, discrimination and conflict.
  • To explore the application of the above theories in transforming prejudice, discrimination and conflict.
  • To deepen experiential knowledge of tensions and conflicts rooted in identity and to analyse one’s own experiences of identity-based conflicts.
  • To participate in, develop and critically reflect upon some interventions designed to transform prejudice, discrimination and conflict.

 

Instructor Information

S. Salman Ahmad, Ph.D.

Salman Ahmad has a PhD in Psychology and has worked as a faculty member and consultant with various educational, business and social organisations across South Asia, the Middle-East and Europe. He teaches and consults in the areas of psychology, leadership and organizational development. He is Chief Consultant at Living Institute, External Lecturer at Copenhagen Business School and the University of Copenhagen and is the founding director of the Cnergi project (cnergi.nu).

 

Course Components

Required texts:

See course schedule below for list of readings for each session. All of these will be uploaded on Canvas.

  • Ahn, S.J., Le, A.M.T., & Bailenson, J.N. (2013). The effect of embodied experiences on self-other merging, attitude, and helping behavior. Media Psychology, 16 (1), 7-38.
  • Auerbach, Y. (2009). The Reconciliation Pyramid—A Narrative-Based Framework for Analyzing Identity Conflicts. Political Psychology, 30(2), 291-318.
  • Blight, J. G., & Lang, J. M. (2004). Lesson Number One:"Empathize With Your Enemy". Peace & Conflict, 10(4), 349-368.
  • Blight, J.G, Lang, J. M., Byrne, M, Banai, H. & Tirman, J. (2014). How it Came to This: The Evolution of Duelling US and Iranian Narratives in Becoming Enemies: US-Iran Relations & the Iran-Iraq War 1979-1988, 25-52.
  • Brewer, M. B. (2010). Social identity complexity and acceptance of diversity. In Crisp, R. J. (ed.) The Psychology of social and cultural diversity. Chichester: Wiley- Blackwell Publishing, 9-33.
  • Duncan, G., & Ridley-Duff, R. (2014). Appreciative inquiry as a method of transforming identity and power in Pakistani women. Action Research, 12(2), 117-135.
  • Gómez, Á., & Vázquez, A. (2015). The power of ‘feeling one’ with a group: Identity fusion and extreme pro-group behaviours. Revista De Psicología Social, 30(3), 481-511.
  • Hammack, P. L. (2008). Narrative and the cultural psychology of identity. Personality And Social Psychology Review, 12(3), 222-247.
  • Hermans, H. M., Konopka, A., Oosterwegel, A., & Zomer, P. (2016). Fields of tension in a boundary-crossing world: Towards a democratic organization of the self. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, doi:10.1007/s12124-016-9370-6, 1-13.
  • Hirsh, J. B., & Kang, S. K. (2016). Mechanisms of identity conflict: Uncertainty, anxiety, and the behavioral inhibition system. Personality And Social Psychology Review, 20(3), 223-244.
  • Jazayeri, K. B. (2016). Identity-Based Political Inequality and Protest: The Dynamic Relationship between Political Power and Protest in the Middle East and North Africa. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 33(4), 400-422.
  • Johnson, C. (2005). Narratives of identity: Denying empathy in conservative discourses on race, class, and sexuality. Theory & Society, 34(1), 37-61.
  • Kinnvall, C. (2004). Globalization and Religious Nationalism: Self, Identity, and the Search for Ontological Security. Political Psychology, 25(5), 741-767.
  • Lupovici, A. (2012). Ontological Dissonance, Clashing Identities, and Israel's Unilateral Steps towards the Palestinians. Review Of International Studies, 38(4), 809-833.
  • Sen, A. (2006). The Violence of Illusion and Making Sense of Identity in Identity and violence: The illusion of destiny. New York, NY, US: W W Norton & Co, 1-39.
  • Sen, A. (2008). Violence, Identity and Poverty. Journal of Peace Research, 45(1), 5-15.
  • Turner, J.C. (2005). Explaining the Nature of Power: A Three-Process Theory. European Journal of Social Psychology. 35. 1-22.
  • Žižek, S. (1996). Fantasy as a political category: A Lacanian approach. Journal For The Psychoanalysis of Culture & Society, 1(2), 77-86.

 

Field studies:

Field Study 1: Khora Virtual Reality

Objective: To study the role of technology in creating empathy.

Field Study 2: Mariam Mosque and Sherin Khankhan, the first female Imam in Copenhagen

Objective: To study the challenges of identity integration in multicultural contexts.

 

Guest Lectures:

  1. Anastasia Bukashe, Psychologist, Organizational Consultant and Priest on Skype from South Africa
  2. Osiris Rankin, PhD Scholar in Psychology at Harvard University

 

Approach to Teaching:

This is an experiential lab and as such, students can expect the course to be not just interactive, but deeply experiential as you will be challenged, your boundaries will be pushed and your assumptions of self and other, and right and wrong will be questioned. However, we will also work on developing a psychologically safe climate in this class, so that all will feel safe enough to push these boundaries of self. The underlying rationale is that it is important for us to acknowledge and confront our own prejudices if we are to work with transforming the prejudices of others. 

 

Expectations of the students:

The course aims at being transformative, and as such you must come prepared to be challenged and for your comfort zones to be pushed. High degrees of honesty, authenticity, courage and respect for the other are needed to successfully complete this course and derive meaningful learning from it. The course may require a certain degree of self-disclosure and self-confrontation and students must be prepared for that. Students must also be prepared for some emotional discomfort that may accompany the process of self-confrontation. But all of this will be in an environment of confidentiality and psychological safety.

 

Statement of Confidentiality:

As the processes of the course may require a certain degree of self-disclosure, all students will enter the course with an understanding that all that is revealed by course members during the unfolding of the course will remain confidential and will not be revealed in any way whatsoever to anyone else by any other course member. This respect for the privacy and safety of the other will form the foundation for an environment of psychological safety that would be a precondition for the successful achievement of course objectives.

 

Assignments and Evaluations

Methods of Evaluation

Individual/Group Evaluation

Percentage of grade

Engagement and Commitment

Individual

25%

Reflection Paper 1

Individual

25%

Reflection Paper 2

Individual

25%

Final Assignment

Group/Individual

25%

Total

 

100%

 

Engagement and Commitment:

A part of the evaluation will be based on active engagement and commitment to the process in class. This would involve, punctuality, being prepared with readings for each session, being involved in classroom activities, engaging in self-disclosure and demonstrating the courage to confront the self. At the same time, students will be expected to be positive, constructive and supportive in their exchanges with other class participants. Therefore, honesty and authenticity towards the self and consideration and compassion towards others would be considered important abilities and values in this course and their inculcation and demonstration will be a part of the evaluation. See rubric on Canvas.

 

Papers:

Another part of the evaluation will be based on individual paper submissions. Students will complete two papers throughout the course in which they will apply theory to analyze their own experiences and the development they are experiencing in their own understanding of identity, prejudice and conflict. The raw data of the papers will be the experiences of the student and this data will need to be analyzed through the lens of course theory. See the paper rubrics on Canvas.

 

Group Assignment:

A third part of the evaluation will be a group paper where students will select a case and submit a proposal on transforming a conflict as presented in the case. Students are free to select their own case. The case could be a conflict at the intrapersonal, interpersonal or group level. Students may also work with large scale, macro level conflicts either within a nation or between nations. The focus of the paper would be coming up with strategies to transform the conflict whilst basing the analysis and proposals in course theory. See rubric on Canvas.  

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.

 

 Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

 

Policy on late papers: Late papers without a valid reason will not be accepted and the paper will be failed.

 

Policy for students who arrive late to class: Arriving late without a valid reason will affect your class participation grade.

 

Use of laptops or phones in class:  Computers and smart phones are not permitted in during regular class sessions. Occasionally you will work in groups or conduct other activities where a computer may be permitted. You will be informed when this is the case. Cell phones are to be shut off and put away in your bags during class. If you have to receive an urgent call, then please take permission from the instructor before the class.

 

Disability and resource statement:  

Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Academic Support (acadsupp@dis.dk) to coordinate this.  In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due