Final Paper

Paper Details:

Your final paper is due May 11 by 10pm. Length should be at least 10-12 pages for undergraduates, 12-15 pages for graduate students; typed; double-spaced; 12 point type. This paper will be a research paper, therefore it should include the following:

1. A brief history of the real-world conflict that you are addressing. This paper should be your own work. The conflict you are researching would ideally involve cross-cultural issues, or other culturally/sociologically relevant issues (i.e., gender, sexual orientation, social class, religion, race, etc.). Correctly cite (using APA, ASA or Chicago style citation) all your sources.

3. A description of initial statements that would plausibly be made by the two parties (or their representatives) involved in the conflict. Get into their heads as you describe the dispute from the viewpoint of each disputant.

4. Describe the negotiation/problem-solving process, including the following aspects:

• How might the mediator separate the positions taken by the disputants in their initial statements, from the underlying interests of the parties? What kind of questions could you as a mediator ask to get at root interests?
• What “mutually acceptable standards” could be raised by you as the mediator to help the disputants move from blaming each other, to assessing the information provided by “objective” or “expert” outsiders?
• What might be the BATNAs of each of the parties (i.e., Best Alternatives to a Negotiated Agreement)
• Brainstorm possible creative/innovative, yet mutually acceptable, solutions
• How might the issue of potential power imbalances, if any, be addressed

1. Your paper must include at least 6 academic resources (books or journal articles, academic web-sites or databases, or newspapers such as New York Times, Houston Chronicle, or Wall Street Journal—NOT USA Today and NOT Wikipedia) for undergraduates, 8 academic resources for graduate students, and provide a bibliography for those sources. You may use APA, ASA, or Chicago style.

2. Do NOT write this paper in the same format as you may have the midterm: in other words, write this as a research paper, NOT as a scripted dialogue between two disputants and a mediator. Merely discuss the interests/positions, BATNAS, etc., do not narrate a conversation.