How I ended up at SPI

In the peacebuilding field, EMU's SPI is just the coolest thing ever. Seriously! You have people coming from over 50 countries, instructors also from all over the world and you collaborate on subject relating to the promotion of world peace? Now that's just awesome.

I knew about Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) long before I knew about EMU's undergrad peace studies program. This summer SPI is launching it's fourteenth annual summer courses. These four ten-day sessions are actually a branch of EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) and most people therefore know about CJP through SPI and CJP's world famous conflict transformation master program

But this is just incredibly boring facts. It's much better to actually live it. I can't say this for certain as SPI isn't officially beginning until Monday but I'm stoked! I'm working on staff here at SPI until mid-June when sessions end, I job I was totally excited to get because it means I can interact with people from all over the world again. I have an office job coordinating housing and I have a people job as a "camp counselor" in the faculty dorm. SPI has three permanent staff and I'm one of seven temporary summer/student staff who work mainly as community assistants (RA/camp counselor/order keeper) in the participent dormartory on campus. I get the best job/jobs because it means I get to do what I'm good at (organizing) and do what I'm good at (interacting with global nomads).

I may hate it. Actually I can't possible hate it because, well, I get to work with fabulous people for one thing. Right now, we're kind of worried about swine flu (um hum, H1N1 virus) but we're going right on ahead and enjoying life abundantly. (Masks are in the kitchen cupboard.)

How to Survive Finals Week

Finals week is completely new to me. I know all about exams and papers and drinking coffee to stay alive but...finals week?...that's new. We have a week dedicated to just finals? Okay, I've never done finals week before. I just study and take exams all the way to the end. But, when in Rome...well...you know how it goes.

Finals Week: A period after classes have ended dedicated to handing in papers, taking exams, partying, cleaning out/packing one's stuff, and putting final touches on summer plans. (This definition is from the author's private stash.)

It's only Monday of my final week and I've pretty much finished my work. No more papers (one left to proof though), no more exams, no more reading, it is finished (hands now folded in a mock yoga position). After fifteen weeks of non-stop running, I can finally breathe. I realize I've been in the States for almost four full months, about four of those months missing different aspects of overseas life. Yet and end means a beginning and if you're familiar with overseas life, you already know it's paramount to accept and love new beginnings.

I'm not quite certain how anyone given to procrastination tendencies survive final week. I think they more or less loose their sanity. But my working ahead has paid off (that and I can't control the syllabus which in this case is working to my advantage, evil laugh in mock yoga position). I will spend my finals week as follows: cleaning up and cleaning out my room (which is already super clean and super organized, kind of boring), prepare for my summer jobs (which I will detail in upcoming blog postings and will be hugely cross cultural), update my blog (including writing some back postings to elaborate on cross cultural experiences in the United States), fit in some socializing (especially with graduating friends), catch up on emails (if I haven't emailed you, it's not because I don't love you), mock those who are running around (just a little), and generally enjoy my life. Oh and that reminds me, I need to buy coffee tomorrow.

How to Write a Conflict Analysis

Part of being a "professional peacebuilder" in training, means I'm required to analyze conflict. How did it happen. Why did it happen. What are the factors. This is typically presented in a written paper. A general part of university life is discussion about your "research methods." ("I took a random sampling which I cross referenced with xyz and then conducted interviews looking for keywords which were consistent with abc and then..." I'm taking quantitative program eval this semester so I'm now fluent in talking the talk.) Take notes now, because I'm pretty sure you may have to write a conflict analysis someday.

A conflict analysis is much the same as a research paper (a problem with my first draft). I choose to write mine on Zimbabwe, not an overt conflict but still a conflict. This ended up being both a positive and negative thing; positive in that I had a massively broad understanding on the subject, negative in that it was personal and difficult to be objective. I begin by reading. I checked out 11 books from the interlibrary loan. I only read 5. I researched online information from governmental and non-governmental organizations, human rights groups, and news services such as Reuters, BBC, and AP. It was a somewhat gradual process using about one free evening a week to research for 4/5 hour blocks at a time. I think I kind of when overboard with the research.

A conflict analysis has an outline. Unlike a general research paper on any given country, you're focusing on power, parties, sources for conflict, identity, gender, human rights, and any historical interventions. Peacebuilding is an interdisciplinary field, and in minor refection of that, all categories sort of mesh together with sources drifting into parties which leads into identity, and on it goes. Most challenging for me is that you do need to analysis the data, it is conflict analysis. You need to interpret the data in an academic non-biased manner, and share these findings.

Volia. These are the fundamentals. I wish you well should you ever attempt writting one yourself. (I have to do another next year.)