Civil Strife in a Complex and Changing World

Book excerpt: Civil Strife in a Complex and Changing World offers numerous perspectives of social conflict in the past and the present with a view toward academic classroom practices that may build strong connections both locally and globally between disparate social groups. Renaissance preachers, abolitionists, freethinkers, and even soldiers in Afghanistan provide thoughtful settings for the consideration of issues that at some times separate us and at other times bring us together. Participants of the 2012 Indiana College English Association conference presented their reflections to member colleagues on the conference theme of “Civil Strife.” They later submitted final papers for inclusion in this book. The papers selected here focus not only on past social conflicts, but also on recent events that have drawn us toward more global interpretations of social conflict. A third section ponders our modern reactions to social issues in the setting of the academic classroom. It also considers the origin of the academic environment itself, which provides the opportunity for the free expression of ideas that opens the door to further reflection and contemplation of the issue of civil strife. To complement the conference’s civil strife theme, graphic design students from the host institution provided a special art display. Some of the artwork displayed was then selected for incorporation into this volume, in the hope that the student work might inspire readers toward further reflection on various issues that often lead to civil strife. The cover art was provided by the Fine Arts Department at Ivy Tech Community College’s South Bend, Indiana campus. The Indiana College English Association is one of several regional affiliates of the national College English Association. ICEA has held an annual conference at an Indiana college or university since its inception in 1967. Information about ICEA may be found at www.icea.ausrc.org. The College English Association is a professional organization of scholar-teachers whose members include a broad and diverse group of professionals from around the world. More information about CEA and its affiliates may be found at www.cea-web.org.