Social Sciences 174. Coping with International Conflict

Roger Fisher

Concerned with bridging the gap between theory and practice. International concerns, such as South Africa, the Middle East, hunger, human rights, and nuclear proliferation, are analyzed in terms of partisan and specialized perceptions; of when to use self-help, exert influence, or engage in education; of those officials, journalists, businessmen, or others who might make a difference; of the choices they now perceive; and of ways to change those choices in order to reduce the costs of conflict, to promote one's view of justice, or both. Seeks to develop skills for deciding who should do what tomorrow morning, and for making constructive action more likely.

Note: May be used by government concentrators to meet their concentration requirements.

Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 10, and one additional meeting at hours to be arranged. 3158 (XII)

ABOVE is a course description from the Harvard University Course Catalogue. Pretty boring, isn't it? What's worse, it's not really all that informative. After all, it is only what the professor thinks his course is supposed to teach, no more and usually a lot less.

On the right, however, is a page from the Crimson's Confidential Guide to Courses at Harvard-Radcliffe for 1979-1980. As you can see, it's a bit more interesting than the course catalogue, and a lot more informative. The Confi Guide tells you what a course is about, how well it is taught, how difficult it is, and how worthwhile it is. Better still, the Confi Guide is written by students who have lived through the courses, not the administration or the faculty. It's like having 100 upperclassmen advisers.

This year the Confi Guide has devoted a special section to the Core Curriculum--its history, its requirements, its courses, and what it will really mean to your education at Harvard. It's the kind of information you won't be receiving from the University.

You can't beat the Confi Guide for straightforward, no bullshit advice about what courses you should take. It's on sale for only $2 at registration, around the campus or at the Crimson, 14 Plympton St.

Soc Sci 174

Coping With International Conflict

It's 2 a.m. in Washington, D.C. The National Security Council has been hastily assembled to debate the American response to the breaking crisis in Asia. The president says, "Now where shall we start, gentlemen?" An aide raises a hand and breaks the silence, saying. "Mr. President, I believe we should formulate a series of balance sheets, starting with our adversary's partisan perceptions and leading to a yesable proposition we can present him with...."

That, according to Law Professor Roger Fisher '43, is how foreign policy should be made. And it's this type of policy-making that Fisher teaches in his popular course, Social Sciences 174.

Fisher, a buddy of State Department heavies, teaches rational and cool-headed policy-making using a series of "tools," which he presents in bi-weekly Socratic lectures. Weekly section meetings reinforce the skills learned in class.

Among the tools which Fisher has developed include the outlining of partisan perceptions in a conflict and what the adversary perceives as the pros and cons of making a specific decision. Some of the tools are a bit gimmicky, such as one which examines the conflict in the context of a game with a set series of moves and group of players, and developing a "yesable proposition," or, in common language, a solution to the conflict.