Peace building and Environmental Leadership Seminar (PELS):
Michelle Shachar, Seminar Instructor
The Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar builds on the conviction that the social and political relationships within and between groups in the region have a significant influence on environmental practices, public policies, and grass roots environmental activism. Understanding these relationships, therefore, is a vital part of grasping the nature of contemporary environmental problems and the possibilities for their amelioration. PELS also recognizes and builds upon the unique opportunity we have at the Arava Institute, as a learning community comprised of Palestinians, Israelis, Jordanians and international students, to create in microcosm the kinds of relationships necessary to foster justice, peace, and environmental sustainability in the broader society. The purpose of the PELS, therefore, is to provide a forum for investigating aspects of the social and political context in which environmental problems develop, and for “prefiguring†the kinds of relationships necessary to foster a more just, peaceful, and ecologically secure future.
The seminar consists of a series of discussions, workshops, guest lectures, and field trips. The program is coordinated by Student Life Director Michelle Shachar, and includes professional facilitation from a Jewish-Arab team experienced with intra-group dialogue.
All students are required to attend the PELS sessions, as indicated in the schedule below. Professional facilitators will lead structured dialogue sessions throughout the semester. Student-led activities about topics they select will also be incorporated into the schedule. There will be a PELS field trip that will relate to the Seminar’s core themes, as well as components on the field trip connected to the Sustainable Development Interdisciplinary Course. The PELS is designed as a two-semester process; in February we will integrate new students into the group that began at the institute at the start of the fall semester.
Experiential and Theoretical Approaches
The Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar builds on the conviction that the social and political relationships within and between groups in the region have a significant influence on environmental practices, public policies, and grass roots environmental activism. Understanding these relationships, therefore, is a vital part of grasping the nature of contemporary environmental problems and the possibilities for their amelioration. PELS also recognizes and builds upon the unique opportunity we have at the Arava Institute, as a learning community comprised of Palestinians, Israelis, Jordanians and international students, to create in microcosm the kinds of relationships necessary to foster justice, peace, and environmental sustainability in the broader society. The purpose of the PELS, therefore, is to provide a forum for investigating aspects of the social and political context in which environmental problems develop, and for “prefiguring†the kinds of relationships necessary to foster a more just, peaceful, and ecologically secure future.
The seminar consists of a series of discussions, workshops, guest lectures, and field trips. The program is coordinated by Student Life Director Michelle Shachar, and includes professional facilitation from a Jewish-Arab team experienced with intra-group dialogue.
PELS Educational Objectives
- To expose students to people, places, and materials connected to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. To learn about and practice the various theoretical aspects of peace building.
- To provide a general understanding of coexistence initiatives in Israel and Jordan today (and perhaps the PA as information becomes available), focusing on the specific challenges these organizations and activists face particular to the region.
- To deepen intercultural and interpersonal awareness, understanding, and respect, and thereby to encourage more effective and creative contacts between students. To build a supportive learning community that emphasizes reflection, self-knowledge, and cultural awareness.
- To foster in the students an awareness about and commitment to environmental cooperation and leadership.
- To provide students with opportunities to explore relevant contemporary issues that may not typically be part of their cultural milieu.
Seminar Structure
All students are required to attend the PELS sessions, as indicated in the schedule below. Professional facilitators will lead structured dialogue sessions throughout the semester. Student-led activities about topics they select will also be incorporated into the schedule. There will be a PELS field trip that will relate to the Seminar’s core themes, as well as components on the field trip connected to the Sustainable Development Interdisciplinary Course. The PELS is designed as a two-semester process; in February we will integrate new students into the group that began at the institute at the start of the fall semester.