Negotiation & Conflict Resolution: Welcome!

Please watch this video to get started.

Hello, hello all you lovely people!

I’m Professor David Emmanuel Gray and I’ll be coaching you this semester in negotiation and conflict resolution. With an open mind and a bit of work, you will learn a lot about yourself while building your skills and confidence for navigating difficult situations with others.

Please take a few minutes to watch my video (above), and I’ll introduce myself and the course. You can then start to explore this page (and then this entire website) to get better oriented.

Feel free to bookmark this site while you are here. You might even add a link to your phone’s home screen for easy access.

For now, though, I look forward to meeting you face-to-face very soon!

David

(I’m a bit old fashioned, so I’d prefer you call me “Professor Gray”. If you do call me “David”, though, I won’t freak out or anything. Call me “Dave” or “Davy”, and I’ll think you are my wife, which would be extremely awkward.)

Bring on the heat and pressure! That’s how diamonds are made. 🪨🔥💎

Woman sitting on a couch reading words on the wall saying, “Welcome! Everything is fine”.

Photo: Justin Lubin / NBC.

How This Course Works

Class meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in Cooke Hall 127B from 1:00PM to 1:50PM. Feel free to arrive early or even stay after class to chat with me!
There will be a lot of in-class activities, so your participation is really important. If you can’t make it to class, let me know in advance and we will figure things out.
There is no required textbook. All readings are available in the class schedule.
Be sure to do the readings according to the class schedule before we meet. We can then all discuss it together!
Okay, I’m going to be real here: you will have to do a substantial amount of writing for this class. Don’t panic! Your negotiation preparations help you collect your thoughts before you negotiate while your self-reflections are about your favorite subject: yourself!
Finally, if you are starting to feel overwhelmed, do not panic! The grading scheme is flexible for how you earn negotiation experience points, while you can use philosopher’s stones for extensions or to make up for missed work. Philosopher’s stones can be real lifesavers when you are struggling balancing everything.

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that learning is a form of liberation. It sets you on the path towards greater independence, self-mastery, and success in life. When done with others (as is often the case), it also strengthens our relationships, creating communities of mutual respect and trust. I am truly humbled to serve you in that journey. For this particular course, I will work with you to cultivate your abilities for negotiating and resolving conflict with others. I do all this with a spirit of generosity, hoping that you too will freely share your gifts to better the lives of those around you.

Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

Our Pact

What you can expect from me:

I will treat you with dignity and respect and be flexible to support your individual needs.
I will provide you with a clear, organized course that is designed to ensure you meet our learning outcomes in a meaningful manner.
I will be actively present in your learning.
I will provide a supportive and safe environment for you to share and discuss ideas with your peers.
I will reach out to you when I sense that you need support.
I won’t be perfect. I am human and will make mistakes at times. I will view mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow.

What I will expect from you:

You will treat me and your peers with dignity and respect.
You will strive to be an active participant in this course and aim to meet due dates.
You will maintain an open line of communication with me so I understand how to support you.
You will strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas.
You will contact me if you have a concern with meeting a due date.
You will give yourself grace. Expect to make mistakes. You are human and mistakes are part of learning and growing.

(This pact comes from Michelle Pacansky-Brock. Generally speaking, this whole welcome page draws on many of her insights—she’s an inspiration!)

Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

Week #1 Success Kit

This course will start moving quickly, and getting off to a good start is the best way to prepare yourself for success. Read this page carefully and you’ll have all you need to start this course on the right foot!

Week 1 suggested plan.
On Sunday, August 24: Due at 11:59pm Early-bird activities.
On Monday, August 25: 1:00pm–1:50pm attend our very first class meeting! Review the questions for self-reflection 1.
On Tuesday, August 26: Read “One Man’s Profit is Another Mans Loss”. Start self-reflection 1.
On Wednesday, August 27: 1:00pm–1:50pm Attend our second class meeting! Due at 11:59pm Orientation activities.
On Thursday, August 28: Read the excerpts from the Leviathan. Continue working on self-reflection 1.
On Friday, August 29: 1:00pm–1:50pm Attend our third class meeting! Finish self-reflection 1.
On Saturday, August 30: Recover from your first week of classes.
On Sunday, August 31: Due at 11:59pm, self-reflection 1. Put together a plan that lets you enjoy the Labor Day holiday while also getting your work done for week 2.
All times are Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time.

Due Dates for Week 1

Sunday, August 24 at 11:59PM (midnight), Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time

Complete all these early-bird activities and you’ll earn your orientation negotiation experience points and some bonus philosopher’s stones:

Complete an initial Conflict Reflection that has you consider what conflict means to you. This is chance for you to write or list out the (emotional, intellectual, personal, impersonal, whatever) associations you have when you hear the word “conflict”. Towards the end of the semester, you will return to this and see how your thoughts have evolved throughout this course.
Watch eight Orientation Videos and complete their quizzes. Some of these videos are the same as those posted throughout this course website, but be sure to still open these up in Panopto so you can answer their quiz questions. Also, these quizzes should be super easy. And if you don’t know an answer, just rewind the video to find it!
Fill out an Introductory Survey, which will give me information that I will use to support your success.
Read the Academic Honor Code and “sign” the Honor Agreement.

Completing each orientation activity (which includes each individual orientation video) earns you 50 negotiation experience points and 0.20 of a philosopher’s stone! These are only assessed by completion—for each activity that you complete, you will earn its full points and philosopher’s stones.

In any case, the purpose of doing all these is to encourage you to get a jump start on the course. If you encounter any problems with this course website, UB Learns, Panopto, or Box, let me know and I will be sure to fix them!

Monday, August 25 at 1:00PM, Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time

Our first day of class! Before class, you should be have read the course syllabus. (If you are so inclined, you might also look over the optional reading with its reading questions.) Come prepared with any questions for me. Meanwhile, also be ready for some excitement: You will do the Hand to Hand activity and earn some negotiation experience points.

Wednesday, August 27 at…

1:00PM, Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time: Our second class meeting! Do that day’s reading and look over its reading questions. There’s another activity—Oil Exports—for earning even more negotiation experience points. It’s going to be 🔥🔥🔥.
11:59PM (midnight), Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time: Complete all these orientation activities for earning negotiation experience points:

Complete an initial Conflict Reflection that has you consider what conflict means to you. This is chance for you to write or list out the (emotional, intellectual, personal, impersonal, whatever) associations you have when you hear the word “conflict”. Towards the end of the semester, you will return to this and see how your thoughts have evolved throughout this course.
Watch eight Orientation Videos and complete their quizzes. Some of these videos are the same as those posted throughout this course website, but be sure to still open these up in Panopto so you can answer their quiz questions. Also, these quizzes should be super easy. And if you don’t know an answer, just rewind the video to find it!
Fill out an Introductory Survey, which will give me information that I will use to support your success.
Read the Academic Honor Code and “sign” the Honor Agreement.

Yup—this is the same list as the early-bird activities. So if you did those early-bird activities, then you are already done! If not, you can still earn 50 negotiation experience points for each of these. (Each video is counted as a separate activity for earning points.)

Friday, August 29 at 1:00PM, Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time

Our third class meeting! As usual, do the reading and look over its reading questions. Hopefully you are now getting into the groove of things, and are ready for an exciting semester!

Sunday, August 31 at 11:59PM (midnight), Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time

Submit your self-reflection #1. This assignment has you think about how you tend to approach conflict with other people. In doing this, I highly encourage you to talk with your family and friends. You’ll likely be impressed at their insights into your behavior. Of course, they’ll probably say stuff you disagree with—and that is fine too!