Workshops will be offered at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 5.  Some workshops are offered twice, some only once.  On the registration form you will be asked to select your first choice and then an alternate (in the event your first choice is no longer available).

Workshops Offered Twice:

1A (9:00 a.m.) 1B (1:00 p.m.)    Technology and Citizen Diplomacy: Creating a World Wide Network of Citizen Diplomats

Ann Olsen Schodde, president & CEO, U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD), and Manoj Aryal, director, Technology, USCCD

Web technologies and new media platforms provide new and exciting ways of engaging people from all over the world. As more and more activities are carried out online, technology leads the way in bringing diverse voices to all concerned citizens. In this workshop, we will explore how technology has evolved and shaped discussions worldwide. We will also present how the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy has used these new advances in technology to connect with citizen diplomats worldwide.

2A (9:00 A.M.) 2B (1:00 P.M.)   Using Dialogue to Heal the Wounds of War

Steinar Bryn, project director, Nansen Dialogue Project, Lillehammer, Norway

Steinar Bryn and the Nansen Dialogue Project were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for their work in facilitating reconciliation and peaceful dialogue between ethnic groups that have long histories of violence.  In this workshop Bryn will share his experience with mediation and negotiation in the Balkans, and engage in a discussion with participants about the methodology the Nansen Project uses.

3A (9:00 A.M.) 3B (1:00 P.M.)  Bombs or Bridges? Interfaith Cooperation in a Time of Global Religious Crisis

Emy Cardoza, campus engagement associate, Interfaith Youth Core, Chicago, Illinois

In this interactive workshop, participants will learn the basic idea of religious pluralism, its current threats, and the urgent need for its realization today. Participants will be equipped with the skills necessary to become “interfaith advocates” who reframe conversations about religion and promote peace through interfaith cooperation.

4A (9:00 A.M.) 4B (1:00 P.M.)  Artistic Survival: Using Courageous Art to Humanize Suffering

Ivan Fuller, professor of theatre at Augustana College and founder and artistic director of the Bare Bodkins Theatre Company in Sioux Falls

The arts give us our primary means of understanding human suffering. Poetry, visual arts, stories, theatre, photography, and music connect with us on deeply emotional levels because they are able to cut to the core in ways that objective reporting cannot. The arts help us see the individual person affected by oppression, violence, and injustice, and when we truly see, it is harder to turn away.  Additionally, the arts help ease the suffering for victims because it directs their thoughts and feelings more deeply inward where they can find new ways to articulate (for both themselves and others) the depth of their struggle. The workshop will introduce these concepts through examples from the WWII Siege of Leningrad.  Fuller has written three plays about the Siege which focus on the role the arts played in helping victims have the courage to resist their oppressors. Participants will then be guided through a process of using one of the arts to put a human face on an immediate cause.

5A (9:00 A.M.) 5B (1:00 P.M.)  Daily Actions for Building a Green Economy

Alisa Gravitz, executive director of Green America (formerly Co-op America), the nation's leading green economy organization

The workshop will inform and inspire participants to make purchasing and investing choices that promote social justice and environmental sustainability. Learn how to harness the power of your daily actions to build a green economy through social responsible investing, buying fair trade products, using clean energy, and taking collective action to build a more sustainable and just world.

6A (9:00 A.M.) 6B (1:00 P.M.)  Shaping History: Rebuilding the Iraqi Air Force

Scott M. Hanson, Brigadier General with the U.S. Air Force and Special Assistant to the U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff.  He has recently redeployed from Iraq, where he was director of the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission and commander of the 321st Air Expeditionary Wing in Baghdad.

The United States Air Force is committed to help train, advise, and assist Iraq in developing a professional and credible air force.  As a leader in this effort, Brig. Gen. Hanson will share the successes and challenges of his day-to-day work.  He will also discuss the role nationalism, sectarianism, culture, and history play in rebuilding the Iraqi government.

7A (9:00 A.M.) 7B (1:00 P.M.)  From Abundance That is False to Abundance That Is Genuine—How?

Stewart Herman, professor of Religion, Concordia College

“Life in all its abundance”...but how can that be sustainable?  Participants will brainstorm how to re-envision a liberal arts college as an environment that directs the growth of students, faculty and staff in directions of genuine and enduring abundance:  that is, lives that are rich spiritually, relationally, and esthetically, in contrast to a false abundance which relies on a seemingly endless and effortless flow of products and services, many of which depend on hidden or disguised externalities.   The session will start with a short talk laying out ideas and relevant real-world data, then will turn to the thoughts and experiences of participants. 

8A (9:00 A.M.) 8B (1:00 P.M.)  Make It Better Now: How to Resist Anti-Gay Harassment and Violence

Brian Juchems, program director for the Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, Madison, Wisconsin

The past several months have been filled with stories of students taking their own lives due in part to anti-gay harassment and violence prevalent on school and college campuses and in the larger community.  How did we get to this point? What can we do about it?  This interactive workshop will help participants find or refine their voices to resist interpersonal and cultural heterosexism, sexism, and cisgenderism so that they gain the skills and courage to act so that our schools and communities are safe and supportive for all people.

9A (9:00 A.M.) 9B (1:00 P.M.)  We Can Talk With Iran: A Case Study in Citizen Diplomacy

Richard A. Kauffman, senior editor and book review editor of the Christian Century magazine and author of An American in Persia: a Pilgrimage to Iran.

The American and Iranian governments have had a long history of complicated interactions. Although many acknowledge that the conflict is between the leadership of the two nations, and not between their citizens, it is unclear how American peace activists can engage in meaningful activism and advocacy without engaging in colonial discourses of "othering," particularly as they relate to Irani/Muslim women. This workshop will encourage participants to identify ways that a collaborative, mutually respectful relationship can be sustained between American and Irani activists.

10A (9:00 A.M.) 10B (1:00 P.M.)  Rooting Courageous Action in Authentic Hope:  Viewing Climate Change and Declining U.S. Power through the Lens of Opportunity Rather Than Fear  

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, associate professor of Justice and Peace Studies at the University of St. Thomas and member of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum executive committee

Failed wars and melting ice caps point to the rather scary prospect that our future will be marked by disruption and discontinuity.  We have a responsibility and an opportunity to impact the quality of that future.  This workshop will focus on how authentic hope is foundational to courageous action.  Faced with the vastness of problems such as climate change and war we are tempted to despair.  The refrain, “I can't make a difference even if I want to” rings in our heads like an echo chamber, stifling any possibility of courageous action.  Hope requires honesty about the crises we face but it is also true that we are much more likely to face the implications of climate change and destructive wars if we believe alternative possibilities exist and that our political and life choices could make a significant difference.   We sow and nourish seeds of authentic hope when we stake our lives on the possibility of a livable future through courageous action. 

12A (9:00 A.M.) 12B (1:00 P.M.)  From Iowa Farmboy to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate: How Norman Borlaug Fed a Billion People

Noel Vietmeyer, Borlaug's biographer and confidant for a quarter-century

Born just 20 miles from Luther College, Norman Borlaug, the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, was a Norwegian-American whose courage to act and his vision to bring peace to the world were formulated by his years in the rural Midwest, where he suffered through hunger and social strife as a student during the dark days of the Great Depression.  Borlaug was given the Nobel Peace Prize for improving wheats that boosted production ten-fold and let Mexico, India, China, and scores more nations transcend their traditions of famine.  The workshop will begin with a short movie in which Borlaug tells of his origins and career, and explains his philosophy of life and for feeding the hungry.  Vietmeyer will then share some of Borlaug's adventures, setbacks and coincidences in a career that seemed forever doomed. General discussion will follow.

13A (9:00 A.M.) 13B (1:00 P.M.)  Putting Courage into Action: Writing Letters Right Now

Amy Watkin, assistant professor of English, Concordia College

This workshop will cover key elements of successful letter writing, for those who want to speak out and be heard by government officials or others.  Discussion will focus on some basic components that can be applied for many types of letters, such as effective introductions and how to create just the right tone. Letter writing is quite different from most of the writing that people do, but learning to write good letters can increase one's confidence and courage to get involved.

16A (9:00 A.M.) 16B (1:00 P.M.)  Can Islamists be Partners in the Struggle for Justice and Peace? Reassessing the Islamic Threat

Robert Shedinger, associate professor of Religion at Luther College and co-chair of this year's Nobel Peace Prize Forum

Hardly a day goes by that a prominent politician or media personality isn't vilifying Islam and Muslims as a threat to the American way of life. In this view, Muslims want to take over the world and institute a theocratic government totally incompatible with the ideals of freedom and democracy so cherished by Americans. In this workshop, participants will critically examine this media-driven stereotype and discuss the provocative question of whether even conservative Islamists may pose a threat not to ideals of freedom and democracy but only to the kinds of social and economic injustices that undermine the true attainment of freedom and democracy. It may be that those who engage in the struggle for a more just and peaceful world will find Islamists to be their important allies, not their enemies.

25 A (9:00 A.M.) 25B (1:00 P.M.)  Us vs. Them? American Activism and Human Rights in Iran

Ahoo Tabatabai, Iran native and visiting assistant professor of Sociology, Luther College

The American and Iranian governments have had a long history of complicated interactions. Although many acknowledge that the conflict is between the leadership of the two nations, and not between their citizens, it is unclear how American peace activists can engage in meaningful activism and advocacy without engaging in colonial discourses of "othering," particularly as they relate to Irani/Muslim women. This workshop will encourage participants to identify ways that a collaborative, mutually respectful relationship can be sustained between American and Irani activists.

Offered at 9:00 a.m. only:

14A (9:00 A.M.)  Peace of the Puzzle: Community Faith-Based Coalitions that Work

Mike Blevins, pastor, lawyer, community organizer, and human rights advocate in Decorah, Iowa

In this workshop the presenter will describe the principles of interfaith-based community organizing.  Why form such an initiative?  What are the first steps for getting organized?  What pitfalls can be avoided?  Blevins, who has a wide range of experience with peace and justice advocacy in both small towns and urban areas, will share practical legal and organizing tips for those who want to begin a faith-based coalition in their own communities.  He will also address the effective use of social media vis-à-vis pavement power. The workshop format will include multi-media, discussion, and role-playing.

15A (9:00 A.M.)  Initiative of Hope and Peace through Conflict Resolution Training in Kashmir

Ufra Mir, Luther College student

Using her own struggles and experiences as a child raised in Kashmir, Ms. Mir is developing a project that would offer conflict resolution workshops to Kashmiri youth.  It has been difficult for adolescents to bridge the gap between Kashmir's violent past and unstable present.  Many youth are easy targets for militant groups looking for new members.  Others have taken refuge in drugs to deal with the after-effects of terrorism.  Ms. Mir and others have researched various models of teaching mediation, non-violent communication, methods of de-escalating verbal conflict in inter-personal communication, and how to intervene when conflict involves physical violence.  This workshop will be used as a platform to test the effectiveness of some of these conflict resolution strategies and techniques before implementing them in Kashmir in the summer of 2011.

17A (9:00 A.M.)  Give and Take in Study Abroad: A Case Study from Northern Tanzania

Lori Stanley, professor of anthropology at Luther College and Sylvie Hall and Kia Johnson, Luther College students

Colleges and universities promote study abroad on the premise that international experiences benefit students by addressing a wide range of educational goals.  But what benefits, if any, are realized by host communities and countries?  In this workshop the leaders will describe the Maasai Medicine Documentation Project (MMDP), a partnership between Luther College and a community of Maasai pastoralists that evolved out of a January Term program in northern Tanzania.  The MMDP is a grassroots effort to address pressing health care issues and educational needs in rural Maasailand.  After presenting this case study, the facilitators will invite participants to share their own ideas for partnering with host communities as a means for promoting greater understanding and goodwill across geographical and cultural boundaries.

18A (9:00 A.M.)  Strategies for Action: Government and Grassroots Initiatives for Just Development

Kristen Wall and Tessa Christensen, Concordia College students

Foundational to President Obama's vision of a global “just peace” is the economic and social development of societies around the world.  Much debate exists in regards to the implementation of development programs.  New strategies are constantly being initiated and old strategies revised to better suit the needs of those living in poverty.  Central to this debate is the choice that donors frequently face between working through government programs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  In this workshop the presenters will briefly outline key findings from their research on this issue.  Participants will then be asked to break into groups and imagine themselves in the position of an informed international donor with a set amount of resources to invest in development.  Discussion groups will be given the choice of several hypothetical governmental and non-governmental proposals and will be asked to discuss the reasoning behind their investment strategy.  A final large group discussion will address issues and questions raised, strategic proposals, and implications for one's own engagement in the work to create a more prosperous and just world.

19A (9:00 A.M.)  Inspiring Peacemaking:  Reports from the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Forum Scholars

Maria Ward and Maddy Buck (St. Olaf College), Hannah Miller and Lindsey Olson (Augustana College), and Mai Yer Vang (Augsburg College)

Last summer the colleges that comprise the Nobel Peace Prize Forum consortium sent two Peace Scholars to Oslo for a six-week study experience. The students explored the work of the Nobel Institute and other peace organizations in Norway and did individual research projects on a topic of their choosing.  In this workshop the students will give an overview of their projects and share how that learning continues to shape their education and future plans.

20A (9:00 A.M.)  Why Courage Is Important and How to Get It: Insights from Psychological Research

Anne Zell, assistant professor of Psychology, Augustana College

Participants will encounter psychology research evidence that one person's courage can make a difference.  They will then consider evidence regarding how people might develop greater courage. Finally, participants will practice using courage through role-play in which they confront prejudiced statements.

Offered at 1:00 p.m. only:

21B (1:00 P.M.)  Inspiring Peacemaking:  Reports from the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Forum Scholars

Katherine Edelen (Augsburg College), Sean Anderson and Erin Daubert (Luther College), and Rachel Brady and Erika Swenson (Concordia College)

Last summer the colleges that comprise the Nobel Peace Prize Forum consortium sent two Peace Scholars to Oslo for a six-week study experience. The students explored the work of the Nobel Institute and other peace organizations in Norway and did individual research projects on a topic of their choosing.  In this workshop the students will give an overview of their projects and share how that learning continues to shape their education and future plans.

22B (1:00 P.M.)  Women’s Voices in Peacemaking Efforts around the World. Lessons from the Cold War and Recent Conflicts Echo

Maryna Bazylevych, assistant professor in Anthropology and Women & Gender Studies, Luther College

When it comes to peacemaking efforts, whose voices count?  This workshop will explore women's roles in peacemaking, focusing on several former and current areas of conflict.  It will look at the history of the United Nations Decade for Women and how women from Soviet bloc and Western bloc countries understood and promoted peace efforts in the context of Cold War.  What can be learned from this history that is applicable to conflicts currently unfolding?  Students will share their perspective on women's peacemaking initiatives in the Congo, Liberia and other recent conflicts zones.

23B (1:00 P.M.)  ”You Cannot Hate Someone Whose Story You Know” -- Deepening Interfaith Understanding Through Storytelling and Compassionate Responding

Sandhya Caton, interfaith coordinator at Luther College, Amy Zalk Larson, Luther campus pastor, and Sheila Radford-Hill, executive director, Luther College Diversity Center

The “Journey Conversations” process for interfaith dialogue has provided Luther College students, faculty and staff with skills for listening deeply, speaking in the first person about experiences of faith, and responding compassionately to others.  In a world in which conversations about religion are often polarized, polemical and angry, a world marred by religious violence and extremism, these skills are vital for the work of peacemaking.  At Luther, Journey Conversations is a six-week commitment, but this workshop will give participants the tools to get a similar conversation started in their own contexts so that people of different faiths can engage in difficult, peacemaking conversations with compassion and thoughtfulness.

24B (1:00 P.M.)  Biological Research with a Social Perspective in Tamil Nadu, South India

Sara Galbraith and Ann Raiho, St. Olaf College students

In this workshop, the presenters will describe how undergraduate research in areas that have environmental, economic , and social consequences can reveal ways to serve local communities.  On a  semester program in Tamil Nadu, South India, Galbraith studied agricultural water use, compost in organic farms, and the economic losses associated with a common bovine bacterial disease.  Raiho studied the role of self-help groups in improving women's nutrition and food security and studied the social effects of wildlife management.  Discussion will focus on important biological issues and their intersection with social and economic justice.  Notes from the workshop discussion will be passed on to future participants in the “Biology in South India” study abroad program and will be part of an ongoing conversation with colleagues in India.  

26B (1:00 P.M.)  Students Collaborating on Irrigation to Fight Hunger in Ethiopia

Kiflu Tesfaye, William Montoya, and Abhra Biswas, Luther College students, and Ezra Mengistu, Williamette University MBA student

As a college sophomore, Kiflu Tesfaye received grant money to implement an ambitious project he devised for a community in his native Ethiopia.  The project, “Collaborating on Irrigation to Fight Hunger” has positively impacted 20 rural families through the creation of a farmers' cooperative, the installation of an irrigation system, the planting of seasonal crops that now command better prices in the market, and the construction of a barn to store the cooperative's crops and tools.  Inspired by project's success, Tesfaye and a group of other students have formed a non-profit organization, I-ImpactNow.  Their mission is to harness innovative ideas and collaborative efforts across the breadth and width of communities in order to create a more sustainable way of life that fosters self-empowerment and alleviates the cycle of poverty.  This workshop will explore how a modest idea paired with student energy can lead to something much bigger.

27B (1:00 P.M.)  Which Long-Term Service Program Should I Do after College?

Luther alumni who have served in the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Lutheran Volunteer Corps and other service organizations will help students discern which program is best for them.

28B (1:00 P.M.)  The Hibakushas' Journeys: Atomic Bomb Survivors' Struggles for Recognition, Efforts for Peace, and Attempts at Interpretation