When we look at conflict within a culture, we see many different orientations. When we are engaged in conflict with someone from a difficult culture, we see even more differences in standpoints.

Consider the issue of time orientation (chronemics):

In monochronic cultures, (e.g., U.S. Germany, Switzerland), we treat schedules very seriously and meetings begin promptly at the time assigned. Yet in polychronic cultures (e.g., Latin America, Arab countries, and areas of the Mediterranean), schedules and plans are quite loose.

So, if you are invited to a meeting scheduled for 2 p.m., what time will you arrive? And what will you assume about a colleague who arrives at 2:20 or 2:40? (And if you are invited to a social party scheduled for 9 p.m., what time will you arrive?)

Here are some areas of conflict to explore further:

Bi-racial relationships - Perhaps you remember the film, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" It was a marvelous look at an engaged couple who are delighted to introduce their partner to one another's parents.

......While many like to think of themselves as open to all races and ethnicities, few would argue that bi-racial relationships can provoke conflict between and among families. Did you know that

• In 1661, Maryland passed the first anti miscegenation law prohibiting marriages between blacks and whites?
• In 1909, California passed a law banning the marriage of those with Japanese ancestory and whites?
• In 1959, Richard and Mildred Loving were sentenced to one year in prison for their interracial marriage?
• In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the last of the anti miscegenation laws in the case of Loving vs. Virginia?
  

To learn more about bi-racial relationships, consult these links:

• Fiona Stokes of UVISION reports on the acceptance of interracial relationships (1996):
  http://www.fullerton.edu/universityblues/interracial/questions_to_ask.htm
• The Washington Post's Darryl Fears and Claudia Deane
  report a 2001 survey study by the newspaper that biracial couples enjoy more tolerance from their families than in years past.

Multi-ethnic communities

• The Consortium on Peace Research, Education, and Development (COPRED) offers alternatives to violence and war through nonviolent social change, Peace and Justice Studies Association, http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/index.php
• The Fresno Pacific University's Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies provides more links of interest: http://peace.fresno.edu/links.php

Learning to appreciate diversity

• Conflict Research Corsortium http://conflict.colorado.edu/ offers a cornucopia of information and links of interest.
• To learn more about countries and their cultures, go to the Library of Congress' Global Gateway, http://rs6.loc.gov/intldl/intldlhome.html.
• Watch the PBS show, Race: The Power of the Illusion found at http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm