Mohammed Cherkaoui, Ph.D.
My practice in conflict and post-conflict settings in the Middle East focuses on the transformation of the media narratives, the repertories of journalists, and how to challenge political subjectivities derived from the public discourse. I have conducted training workshops for journalists and media activists in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, andTurkey on alternative approaches toward win-win solutions, humanization of all parties, and exposure of untruths on all sides within a framework of the media as critical reflective practice of narrated stories.
I am also exploring with a mediatized conflict resolution framework by taking Conflict Resolution to the public eye, the public ear, and possibly the public imagination. The field of CAR needs to address the public directly, redefine its audience, and reposition itself as a gateway to positive change. Practitioners need to have the public on their side to be part of the public discourse. Considering the media's growing effect of polarization and radicalization in the world, I remain hopeful for the entry of conflict resolution narrative into the split TV screens globally to articulate its insights, as a third voice, amidst the often heated debates among interlocutors of dominant narratives and their counter narratives contenders. This is how I like to narrate my vision for the future.
Bio: Mohammed Cherkaoui is Adjunct Professor at George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution where his current research focuses on the split of social groups, transformation of narratives and enmity system, emergence of new identities within the identity-narrative nexus, and moral appeal of emerging political actors. His practice of conflict resolution has centered on the transformation of the media narrative in the Middle East, where heconducts training workshops for journalists and media activists on alternative orientation toward win-win solutions, humanization of all parties and exposure of untruths on all sides, within the framework of the media as critical reflective practice. He dealt first hand with various dynamics of wars and conflicts for years in North Africa and the Middle East namely the Gulf War, the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, Algeria's Civil War, and the Iraqi War during his stints at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London, the Voice of America (VOA) and ANA television in Washington. He is the recipient of eleven professional awards for excellence in journalism including The Voice of America Employee of the Year in 2000. Dr. Cherkaoui teaches a wide array of classes including: Theories of Conflict resolution, Global Conflict, Integration of Theory and Practice, Arab Uprisings and Social Change, and Media and Conflict Resolution. His recent publications include Asabiya! The Power of Transformative Solidarity (forthcoming); What is Enlightenment? Continuity and Rupture in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings (forthcoming); Civilians and Modern War: Armed Conflict and the Ideology of War, (co-edited, 2012); The Palestinian Media at the Crossroads: Challenges and Expectations (2011); and Media or Half-media in the Midst of International Conflicts? A Critical Assessment from Within, (book chapter, 2011).
I am also exploring with a mediatized conflict resolution framework by taking Conflict Resolution to the public eye, the public ear, and possibly the public imagination. The field of CAR needs to address the public directly, redefine its audience, and reposition itself as a gateway to positive change. Practitioners need to have the public on their side to be part of the public discourse. Considering the media's growing effect of polarization and radicalization in the world, I remain hopeful for the entry of conflict resolution narrative into the split TV screens globally to articulate its insights, as a third voice, amidst the often heated debates among interlocutors of dominant narratives and their counter narratives contenders. This is how I like to narrate my vision for the future.
Bio: Mohammed Cherkaoui is Adjunct Professor at George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution where his current research focuses on the split of social groups, transformation of narratives and enmity system, emergence of new identities within the identity-narrative nexus, and moral appeal of emerging political actors. His practice of conflict resolution has centered on the transformation of the media narrative in the Middle East, where heconducts training workshops for journalists and media activists on alternative orientation toward win-win solutions, humanization of all parties and exposure of untruths on all sides, within the framework of the media as critical reflective practice. He dealt first hand with various dynamics of wars and conflicts for years in North Africa and the Middle East namely the Gulf War, the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, Algeria's Civil War, and the Iraqi War during his stints at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London, the Voice of America (VOA) and ANA television in Washington. He is the recipient of eleven professional awards for excellence in journalism including The Voice of America Employee of the Year in 2000. Dr. Cherkaoui teaches a wide array of classes including: Theories of Conflict resolution, Global Conflict, Integration of Theory and Practice, Arab Uprisings and Social Change, and Media and Conflict Resolution. His recent publications include Asabiya! The Power of Transformative Solidarity (forthcoming); What is Enlightenment? Continuity and Rupture in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings (forthcoming); Civilians and Modern War: Armed Conflict and the Ideology of War, (co-edited, 2012); The Palestinian Media at the Crossroads: Challenges and Expectations (2011); and Media or Half-media in the Midst of International Conflicts? A Critical Assessment from Within, (book chapter, 2011).
With Syrian journalists and media activists, Kilis, Turkey, January 18, 2013
