Guests of Juniata College

The Baker Institute: 2021–2022

Speakers

POLLY WALKER, PH.D.

October 12, 2021

Lecturer; Professor Emeritus at Juniata College; Director Emeritus of the Baker Institute

Dr. Polly Walker, Juniata College Associate Professor Emeritus and member of the Cherokee Southwest Township, gave a virtual lecture titled “Cry for Justice: Addressing the Intergenerational Impacts of the Indian Boarding Schools,” in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, October 11. Dr. Polly Walker is well known in the Peace Studies field for her work with cross-cultural issues in conflict transformation, Indigenous approaches to peace, and the role of ritual and performance in peacebuilding. Walker’s lecture explored the discovery of the unmarked graves at boarding schools in Canada, Deb Haaland’s calls for an inquiry into the Indian boarding schools in the U.S., and a process underway in Albuquerque, New Mexico (where Walker now lives) to honor the Native children who died at an Indian boarding school in the region, which is now a public park and unmarked.

JOSEPH G. BOCK, PH.D.

October 28, 2021

Professor; Director of the School of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University

Dr. Joseph G. Bock serves as The Director of the School of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University’s Department of Political Science and International Affairs. His humanitarian work has brought him to crisis areas around the world. Bock has worked in Jerusalem/West Bank/Gaza Strip, Pakistan, and Rwanda, to name a few. Dr. Joseph Bock’s lecture at Juniata College was titled “What if Gandhi had a Smartphone? How the Field of Peace and Conflict Studies is Changing”. This lecture explored how social media, big data, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and computational speed are changing the nature of the conflict between individuals, communities, states, and nation-states. Bock is a scholar on the role technology serves in nonviolent social movements

JACOBA ROCK, PH.D.

November 10, 2021, and November 16, 2021

Professor; Forensic Social Work Scholar and Practitioner

Dr. Jacoba Rock is a leader in opportunities and initiatives that support trauma-informed restorative justice for incarcerated populations. During a two-part, five-hour workshop titled “Restorative Justice 101”, Dr. Rock was invited to unpack the restorative justice process and give a comprehensive historical and theoretical overview, before leading dedicated participants in simulation and role play to build restorative justice skills. This event was sponsored by the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies with the support of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Office of the Provost. The workshop was offered to faculty, students, staff, and administration at Juniata College who wanted to explore collaborative and restorative conflict resolution approaches.

PETER COLEMAN, PH.D.

April 6, 2022

Lecturer; Executive Director of Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity in the Earth Institute

Dr. Coleman is a renowned expert on constructive conflict resolution and sustainable peace. His current research focuses on conflict intelligence and systemic wisdom as meta-competencies for navigating conflict constructively across all levels (from families to companies to communities to nations). The research includes projects on adaptive negotiation and mediation dynamics, cross-cultural adaptivity, justice and polarization, multicultural conflict, and sustainable peace.

Dr. Coleman edits the award-winning Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (2000, 2006, 2014), and has published six books of his own. Dr. Coleman recently published a book on breaking through the intractable polarization plaguing the U.S. and other societies across the globe, titled, “The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization”, which was the focus of his lecture on campus.