[MassHistPres] workshop announcement

[Marla R. Miller]

Dear Friends,

I wanted to let the Massachusetts preservation community know about this
upcoming workshop at UMass. I haven't worked as a preservation consultant in a
while, but during those years from time to time I had encounters with community
members that challenged my skills as a historian working in public. Since there
might be others who wish they had a little more training when they find
themselves dealing with contentious issues and audiences, I thought I'd share
the announcement below with this list.

Many thanks,

Marla Miller


WORKSHOP: MEDIATION SKILLS FOR HISTORIANS
Dialogue 2.0:  Framing the Negotiation

In 2008-09, the History Department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
will host a year-long series of events that explore the theme "What is Life
Worth?"  The program--the 3rd biennial Feinberg Family Lecture Series--
explores issues raised by the career and writings of Kenneth R. Feinberg,
Special Master of the 9-11 fund and a mediator whose work has included a range
of cases from Agent Orange to the Dalkon Shield.

Mediation skills play signficant roles beyond the courtroom as well, and are of
course essential to public history practice, especially when the subjects
addressed are sensitive, even volatile. In order to promote the cultivation
of those skills across our profession, the series will include a half-day
workshop led by Robin DiGiammarino, President and Founder of Lodestar
Mediation, LLC.  During this interactive seminar, participants will learn
tools to approach conflict with confidence and competence. Using
instruction and role play, the group will practice techniques to more
effectively engage in the difficult conversations that often accompany public
history practice. Participants will learn the seven elements of negotiation
developed by Roger Fisher, and--through case study and simulation drawn from
recent events in public history--will apply this interest-based approach to
negotiation and conflict.

The workshop will be held from 1:00-5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 27th,
in 601 Herter Hall on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus.  The
workshop is free, but space is limited and pre-registration is required.  To
register, please email Public History Program administrative assistant Laura
Miller at lamil1 at history.umass.edu.  The full calendar for this exciting series
is available at http://www.umass.edu/history/feinberg.html.  For more on
Lodestar Mediation, go to http://www.lodestarmediation.com/


Marla R. Miller
History Department, Herter Hall
University of Massachusetts
161 Presidents Drive
Amherst, MA 01003-9312
413-545-4256 (voice); 413-545-6137 (fax)
mmiller at history.umass.edu