Conflict Studies Minor

Coordinator: Carly Herold

Prof. Herold is on leave for the 2023-24 Academic Year. Please contact Prof. Karleen West, Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, with any questions: kwest@geneseo.edu.

To add the Conflict Studies Minor, submit this form. 

About the Minor

This minor is intended for students entering careers or graduate programs related to conflict resolution, conflict management, peace, government, law, and related areas. Both interpersonal and inter-group conflict are important, and can include conflict related to business, education, inter- and intra-state relations, families, friendships, group membership, politics, the judicial system, and other arenas. Students should emerge from the minor with a broad understanding of the causes of conflict and of the management of conflict. Students should also emerge with more in-depth knowledge in one particular area of conflict management.

Some of the classes in the minor may have been added to the minor after your arrival at Geneseo. If so, you will also need a waiver from Prof Herold, and should request one indicating that you wish this particular class to count. The same goes for all slot or experimental classes (generally numbered 288 or 388). To get a waiver, email heroldc@geneseo.edu with your full name, your G#, the course for which you seek a waiver (prefix, number and title), and the track to which you seek to apply this course. This should be AFTER completion of the course unless you are in your final semester at Geneseo (in which case you need to indicate this).

Important Information: Revisions to the Minor

The Conflict Studies Minor underwent significant change in 2017. All those whose catalog year (year starting at Geneseo) precedes 2017-2018 may take the old or new program. Those joining Geneseo Fall 2017 or later must comply with the new requirements. For requirements through 2016-2017, see that year's undergraduate bulletin. New requirements follow below.

Total Credits Required: 21 credits

  • Basic Requirements: 3 credits: Choose one of the three options. COMN 346: Conflict, Negotiation, & Mediation, PLSC 140: S/International Politics, or SOCL 241: S/Individual and Society
  • Concentration Requirements: 9 credits: Students should select one of the following tracks designed to familiarize them with a specific area of conflict management. See Concentration descriptions below.
  • Electives: 9 credits: In addition to three courses in the area of concentration, students must complete one course from each of the other three concentration tracks in this minor.

Notes

  • Each course may apply only once to the minor.
  • At least 9 credits must be unique to the minor.
  • Students must take courses from at least three different prefixes, including at least two different prefixes within their chosen Concentration.
  • Students must apply a minimum of two 300-level courses, and may apply maximum two 100-level courses, toward the minor.
  • *Students need to complete prerequisites for courses marked with asterisks below.

Concentration Descriptions

Global Perspectives on Conflict

This track is designed to give students a global or international and cross-cultural perspective on why conflict occurs, how conflict is resolved, and the consequences of conflict on a large scale.

  • ANTH 120 S/Language and Culture
  • ANTH 216 S/M/The African Diaspora
  • COMN 317 Intercultural Communication*
  • ENGL 360 M/Post-Colonial Literature*
  • GEOG 123 S/M/The Developing World
  • GEOG 376 Political Geography*
  • HIST 205 The World Since 1945
  • PHIL 201 Environmental Ethics
  • PLSC 227 Civil War and Conflict Resolution
  • PLSC 228 S/M/Developing World Politics
  • PLSC 241 Politics of Genocide
  • PLSC 340 International Law and Organization*
  • PLSC 341 Democracy and International Relations*
  • PLSC 342 Human Rights in a Global Perspective*
  • PLSC 347 Terrorism and National Security*
  • PLSC 351 Failed States*
  • PSYC 385 M/Cross-Cultural Psychology*
  • SOCL 105 S/M/Introduction to Global Social Change
  • SOCL 218 Sociology of Environmental Issues
  • SOCL 325 Global Social Change*
  • SOCL 340 Social Movements*

Power Issues and Conflict

This track provides a psychological, political and legal exploration of conflict emerging from the use and abuse of power between and among people and various social systems. Inequality Courses examine inequality, oppression, and conflict stimulated by majority-dominated structures.

  • ANTH 318 Gender and Sexuality in Latin America
  • ECON 3XX (number TBD): Women and the Economy* (requires waiver, see above)
  • ENGL 318 Literature and Culture*
  • HIST 250 S/U/Work and Workers in Modern America
  • HIST 264 S/U/United States Immigration History
  • HIST 266 S/U/Civil Rights Movement in America
  • HIST 267 S/U/Women and US Social Movements
  • HIST 407 Slave Rebellions and Resistance in the Atlantic World*
  • HIST 413 Black Power and Structural Inequality in Post-1945*
  • HIST 453 The Holocaust in Historical Perspective*
  • PHIL 204 Philosophy of Woman
  • PLSC 250 Women and Politics
  • PSYC 308 Psychology of Women
  • SOCL 201 Black Women in American Society
  • SOCL 220 U/Inequality, Class and Poverty
  • SOCL 225 Sociology of Gender and Sexuality
  • SOCL 230 S/U/Race and Ethnicity
  • SOCL 317 Gender and Law*
  • SOCL 354 Political Sociology*
  • WGST 100 Introduction to Women’s Studies
  • WGST 310 Race, Class and Gender
  • WGST 320 Gender and Sexualities

Applied Conflict Management

This track is designed for students who wish to become more proficient in the practice of conflict management and resolution techniques in various social settings.

  • AMST 262 S/American Indian Law & Public Policy (cross-listed with HIST 262)
  • ANTH 120 S/Language and Culture
  • COMN 211 Discussion and Group Dynamics
  • COMN 212 Theory and Practice of Argument
  • COMN 213 Persuasion and Social Influence
  • COMN 317 Intercultural Communication*
  • COMN 346 Conflict, Negotiation and Mediation*
  • ENVR 124 S/Environmental Issues
  • GEOG 274 Conservation and Resource Management
  • PHIL 201 Environmental Ethics
  • PHIL 217 Problems in the Philosophy of Law
  • PHIL 219 Social and Political Philosophy
  • PHIL 237 Ethical Issues in Business
  • PLSC 218 Politics of the Judicial Process
  • PLSC 227 Civil War and Conflict Resolution
  • PLSC 315 Legislative Process*
  • PSYC 265 Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology*
  • PSYC 350 Social Psychology
  • SOCL 102 S/Introduction to Social Problems and Public Policy
  • SOCL 310 Sociology of Law
  • SOCL 317 Gender and Law*
  • SOCL 347 Criminology and Juvenile Delinquency*

Social Conflict in the United States

This track focuses on tension in the United States created by struggles between various political and social groups endemic to American society.

  • AMST 262 S/American Indian Law & Public Policy (cross-listed with HIST 262)
  • COMN 355 Contemporary Problems in Freedom of Speech
  • ENGL 337 African-American Literature *
  • GEOG 274 Conservation and Resource Management*
  • HIST 161 S/U/Issues in American History I
  • HIST 162 S/U/Issues in American History II
  • HIST 163 S/U/African American History to 1877
  • HIST 164 S/U/African American History from 1877
  • HIST 204 S/U/U.S. Since 1945
  • HIST 249 S/U/Studies in American History
  • HIST 250 S/U/Work and Workers in Modern America
  • HIST 263 S/U/Civil War and Reconstruction: The United States 1848-1877
  • HIST 264 S/U/United States Immigration History
  • HIST 266 S/U/Civil Rights Movement in America
  • HIST 267 S/U/Women and US Social Movements
  • HIST 406 Age of the American Revolution*
  • HIST 412 African Americans in the Age of Jim Crow*
  • HIST 413 Black Power and Structural Inequality in Post-1945*
  • PLSC 211 U/Political Parties and Interest Groups
  • PLSC 315 Legislative Process*
  • PLSC 316 Political Power in American Cities*
  • SOCL 201 Black Women in American Society