ACADEMIC
CONTROVERSY? Enriching College Instruction through Instructional
Conflict
by
David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson, Karl A. Smith
Despite
frequent reminders of the value of conflict, most faculty
dread controversy and conflict when it erupts in their
classroom. In this monograph, the authors draw on 35 years
of their own research on controversy to provide faculty
with a constructive framework for harnessing the learning
potential inherent in classroom conflict. They summarize
the theory and research supporting the use of academic
controversy, and describe the process of how controversy
works. They also provide detailed instructional procedures
for implementing intellectual conflict among students.
Essentially,
the instructor's role in conducting an academic controversy
involves making a number of pre-instructional decisions,
explaining the task and the controversy procedure, and
monitoring the effectiveness of the controversy. It is
argued that the more students participate in the controversy
process, the more they learn, the more they will like
each other and the healthier they will be psychologically.
The authors' research suggests that academic controversies
properly managed enrich rather than disrupt classroom
life. Perhaps you might want to give it a try in your
next course.
1996,
ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report Series 25:3
ISBN: 1-878380-75-3w99
Paperback, 105 pp. $24.00
Distributed by Jossey-Bass Publications
Note:
Additional information on the academic controversy model
is available via the web from the National
Teaching and Learning Forum (includes a downloadable
pdf file on this topic) and from the PBS
Peaceful Solutions series for highschools.
MENDING
THE CRACKS IN THE IVORY TOWER: Strategies for Conflict
Management in Higher Education
edited by Susan A. Holton
This
1998 hardcover volume represents one of the few available
collections of work specifically addressing campus conflict
management. Written 
primarily
with deans, department chairs and faculty in mind, this
book provides practical tips and anecdotal reflections
on managing academic conflict from a range of experienced
faculty and administrators. Generally the tone is conversational
rather than scholarly, although some chapters do provide
references.
The
book's 14 chapters are: (1) "What's It All About? Conflict
in Academia" (Susan A. Holton);
(2) "Administration in an Age of Conflict" (Gerald
Graff); (3) "The Janus Syndrome: Managing Conflict
from the Middle" (Walter H. Gmelch);
(4) "Chairs as Department Managers: Working with Support
Staff" (Mary Lou Higgerson);
(5) "Spanning the Abyss: Managing Conflict Between Deans
and Chairs" (Ann F. Lucas);
(6) "The Cutting Edge: The Dean and Conflict" (Nancy
L. Sorenson); (7) "And Never the Twain Shall
Meet: Administrator- Faculty Conflict" (Judith
A. Sturnick); (8) "Managing Conflict on the
Front Lines: Lessons from the Journals of a Former Dean
and Provost" (Clara M. Lovett);
(9) "Student Affairs and Academic Affairs: Partners in
Conflict Resolution" (Lynn Willett);
(10) "Can We Agree To Disagree? Faculty-Faculty Conflict"
(Cynthia Berryman-Fink);
(11) "Views from Different Sides of the Desk: Conflict
Between Faculty and Students" (John
W. "Sam" Keltner); (12) "Student-Student Conflict:
Whose Problem Is It Anyway?" (Janet
Rifkin); (13) "Conflict Resolution in the Academy:
A Modest Proposal" (Joel M. Douglas);
and (14) "Academic Mortar To Mend the Cracks: The Holton
Model for Conflict Management" (Susan
A. Holton). The book concludes with a useful
appendix listing conflict management training opportunities
for administrators prepared by former Fourth
R Higher Education editor Gillian
Krajewski.
Thhe book is well-edited and reads easily, although there
is considerable repetition of core concepts across the
various chapters. I personally found the the Keltner chapter
on conflict between faculty and students to be particularly
insightful. The concepts contained in the self-titled
(and copyrighted) "Holton Model for Conflict Management"
that wraps up the book will look extremely familiar to
most practitioners of conflict resolution and collaborative
problem-solving. Nevertheless it may be helpful to some
administrators looking for a structured set of guidelines
for responding to conflict. For a closer look at the "Holton
Model," readers may wish to review a summary available
online in a short piece also by Susan entitled "Cracks
in the Ivory Tower: Conflict Management in the Classrooom
- and Beyond".
ISBN
1-882982-21-5
1998, Anker Publishing
Company, Inc.
288 pp. Hardback
$35.95 plus $2.88 postage & handling.
TRUTH
AND CONSEQUENCES: HOW COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES MEET PUBLIC
CRISES
by Jerrold K. Footlick
This
interesting book examines the impact of how the leaders
of academic institutions explain themselves to the media,
alumni,
and friends during a public relations crises. The volume
is part of the American Council on Education/Oryx Press
Series on Higher Education. Author Jerrold K. Footlick
is well-suited to the task at hand. He is an experienced
writer, university teacher, and counselor on media and
public affairs. Footlick spent 20 years at Newsweek, where
he created their Justice Department, and later as Senior
Editor supervised the Education, Justice, Science, Medicine,
Sports, and Periscope departments. He also developed and
edited Newsweek On Campus, a bi-monthly magazine for college
students.
The
book draws on a series of actual case studies to demonstrate
how staff members in a number of colleges and universities
have responded to situations that required public accountability.
The case studies include the following:
-
Indirect costs controversy at Stanford University
- Integrity
of cold fusion research results at the University
of Utah
- Drug
raids at the University of Virginia
- Holocaust
denial advertisement at Queens College
- Prostitution
case at Brown University
- Firing
of Woody Hayes at The Ohio State University
- The
Judicial System on Trial at the University of Pennsylvania
Each
study describes the background of the case, tracing it
to its flash point. Additionally, the book presents the
events as they occurred, examining the actions taken by
the institution's authorities and evaluating whether they
were effective or counterproductive. Finally, the author
draws lessons from each case study to help colleges and
universities develop their own effective crisis management
policies.
ISBN:
0897749707
1997, Oryx Press
176 pp., Paperback
$35.50
CONFLICT
RESOLUTION: THEORY, RESEARCH, AND PRACTICE
by James A. Schellenberg
This
wonderfully concise and yet broad reaching introductory
conflict studies textbook was written by James Schellenberg,
a Professor of Sociology at Indiana State University.
The book is essentially an revision and update of Schellenberg's
earlier volume entitled The Science
of Conflict. In this book the various major
theories of conflict, both classic and contemporary, are
reviewed under four main categories: individual characteristics
theories, social process theories, social structural theories,
and formal theories. Broadly defining conflict resolution,
Schellenberg also gives systematic coverage to five main
ways people may try to resolve their conflicts: coercion,
negotiation, adjudication, mediation, and arbitration.
He uses brief conflict case examples and stories of the
people who helped develop various theoretical ideas to
ground the concepts for the reader.
In
a field that sometimes seems hampered by conflict resolution
how-to guides devoid of theory on the one hand, and dense
and sometimes impenetrable research and theory articles
on the other, this book is a welcome addition. I've used
the text in my Roots of Social Conflict graduate course,
and have found it to be well-received by students due
to its refreshing balance and interweaving of theory,
research and practice. While I understand there are a
number of new conflict theory textbooks from other authors
in the pipeline, for the time being this one stands as
my favorite starting place for teaching conflict theory
in the college classroom. It should perhaps be noted that
the reviewer, similar to the author, has a background
in sociology which may partially sway my attitudes in
favor of the book. Nevertheless, I think this book is
a "good read" for people working in any discipline.
1996,
State University of New York Press 256 pp.
Paperback ISBN 0-7914-3102-9
List Price: $21.95
Readers
may be interested to know that Indiana State University
now offers a Social Conflict distance-learning course
taught by Dr. Schellenberg that uses the Indiana Higher
Education Television Network and/or videotapes to supplement
this book as the core text. (Name=guest, Password=guest)
HE
LOOKS TOO HAPPY TO BE AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR: A Collection
of Cartoons
by Vivian Scott Hixson 
Centering
on the experiences of contemporary college and university
faculty and staff, this delightful collection of cartoons
covers the real and inane issues found in the world of
higher education. Creator Vivian Scott Hixson is the author
of hundreds of cartoons published by the Chronicle of
Higher Education, so you probably have seen her work before.
Married to a professor, and an occasional professor herself,
Hixson has firsthand experiences on which to base her
cartoons. Using humor as her tool, she points the finger
at petty professors, meddling administrators, and misguided
students. At the same time, however, Hixson gently targets
the major dilemmas of today's academic world. Covering
topics ranging from meetings and committees and finances
to grants and research, He Looks Too Happy to Be an
Assistant Professor offers enjoyment to anyone associated
with higher education. Hixson is currently Adjunct Assistant
Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University.
"Ms.
Hixson's graphic observations are clever and whimsical.
They are--in the best cartooning tradition--playful,
perceptive, and pointed. They cast a bright light on
the marionettes who strut the academic stage. And, except
for those in which we stuffy academics might discover
ourselves, they are entertaining."
-- From the Foreword by David L. Lendt
ISBN
0-8262-1076-7
1996, University of Missouri Press.
136 pp. 8 1/4 x 5 1/2. 122 illus.
$11.95 paper.
Page
last updated
11/27/2005
A
project of Campus Conflict Resolution
Resources.
Supported by a FIPSE grant from the US Department of Education
and seed money from the Hewlett Foundation-funded CRInfo
project.
Correspondence
to CMHE Report
(Attn: Bill Warters)
Campus Conflict Resolution Resources Project
Department of Communication
585 Manoogian Hall
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48201.
Please
send comments, bug reports, etc. to the Editor.
© 2000-2005 William C. Warters & WSU,
All rights reserved.
