Reconstructing Natural Spaces of Encounter in Institutions of Higher Education

• In Event: Diversity and Supporting Social Cohesion

Abstract

In divided societies, institutions of higher education are often “natural spaces of encounter,” where members of opposing groups regularly meet and interact. This paper reports on action research aimed at enabling Jewish and Arab students, together with other stakeholders at a college in Israel, to jointly construct a mutually beneficial space of encounter. This joint construction process, conceptualized as “negotiating reality”, draws on social constructionism, social space/field theory, and identity-conflict resolution. The action research method for operationalizing and studying negotiating reality was “Action Evaluation”, a participatory, stakeholder-based action research method for goal setting. The paper illustrates how actors in the field began to jointly redesign the existing relationships, meanings, and rules of the game that defined their space of encounter.

Authors

• Jay Rothman, Bar-Ilan University

• Victor J. Friedman, Max Stern Yezreel Valley College

• Nizr Bitar

• Anwar Elshikha Beroumi

• Michal Man

• Oriana Abboud-Armeli

• Marwan Hassan

• Javier Simonovitch

• Daniela Arielli