(Posted March 11, 2013)

Tatsushi Arai, associate professor of peacebuilding and conflict transformation at the School for International Training
Tatsushi Arai, associate professor of peacebuilding and conflict transformation at the School for International Training

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Tatsushi Arai, author of "Creativity and Conflict Resolution: Alternative Pathways to Peace," will teach two workshops at Juniata College and give a public presentation on how artistic creativity can inspire conflict resolution at 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 18, in Neff Lecture Hall in the von Liebig Center for Science on the Juniata campus.

The March 18, 7:30 p.m. lecture, "Art, Creativity and Conflict Transformation: A Practitioner's Fieldnotes," is free and open to the public. Arai also will teach two workshops for Juniata students on "Conflict Transformation in Afghanistan-Pakistan-U.S. Relations: An Experiential Approach," at 1 p.m., Monday and at 9 a.m., Tuesday, March 19, in Sill Boardroom in the von Liebig Center. The workshops are open only to students.

Arai's workshops and lecture are sponsored by a $4,000 matching grant from the U.S. Institute of Peace, as part of its Public Education for Peacebuilding Support initiative. The institute is a nonpartisan conflict management center created by the U.S. Congress to prevent and mitigate international conflict without resorting to violence.

"Tatsushi Arai is an internationally known scholar on peacebuilding and performance," says Polly Walker, assistant professor of peace and conflict studies, who organized the events.

By illustrating his talk with examples of creative breakthroughs in conflict transformation, Arai will show how creativity can be used as a process of social learning that allows conflicting sides to see how an unconventional solution to a disagreement can be recognized as a workable solution through performance and other creative arts.

"Tatsushi Arai is an internationally known scholar on peacebuilding and performance."

Polly Walker, assistant professor of peace and conflict studies

Arai is associate professor of peacebuilding and conflict transformation at the School for International Training, based in Brattleboro, Vt. He also is a visiting scholar at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Va. Before coming to the United States, he taught international relations at the National University of Rwanda.

Arai has worked as a trainer, mediator and facilitator for conflict resolution workshops for diplomats, military personnel and peace operations professionals. He has taught workshops throughout the Middle East, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and the United States.

Arai is currently working on a book on conflict resolution in the East China Sea, which outlines group-based creativity to policymaking in China-Japan-United States relations.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.