I worked as a professional actor for a while before going back and completing an M.A. in intercultural relations with a focus on conflict resolution. I came to Pittsburgh following my wife, who is working on her master's degree at the University of Pittsburgh. As someone trained in folklore, I was very interested in the way that every culture looks at the world differently. The assumptions we make about the way things work, or should work, are cultur ally based-that's what makes studying intercultural communication so interesting. That dynamic works within cultures too.
Most conflict happens because people see things differently.
Conflict resolution and intercultural studies have similar goals. They help people get to the point where they can see things from a wider range of per spectives. I also got involved in conflict resolution because I think our culture is way too quick to use confrontational solutions. There certainly are situations where that is appropriate and even necessary but those are very, very extreme cases. I'd like to sh ift the spectrum so that people can see that violence is way out there on the fringes and that they have many more productive options to explore before going that route.