RELG 3600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Jonathan Sacks, Lawrence Freedman, Relate
7 May 2018
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Department
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Professor
Class 5: February 19, 2018
Review Session
• 3x3 schematic with Religious Actors, Policy Makers, Civil Society, Narrative, Heritage,
and Community
o Narrative: story lines, Heritage: material stuff like sacred sites/religious artifacts
(p. 324 - Oxford handbook), Community: people affected by the conflict
(specifically women, children, religious actors),
o Final paper: we’ll have to pick one of the major categories as an entrypoint for
solving the problem
• Minor Paper: assign each person the group to a different box in the schematic and use
them to research the approach re: the group topic → “subject matter specialists”
o 70% research, 30% solution → same ratio for final paper
• How to do team presentation:
o 10-11 minutes per team + 10 minutes of Q&A per team
o The goal is to reduce religion-related violence
o Evaluation: diagnosing underlying conflict? Compelling logical theory of change?
Applying class concepts/W.U.K./Theories of Strategy? Balancing Key
Stakeholders? Making S.M.A.R.T. recommendations? Compelling
communication to audience?
o Start with Background: not too much but give enough to give a sense of your
country, ethnic makeup/religious background/significance, identify actors/relevant
religious leaders/heads of state, don’t include it if it doesn’t help us better
understand your solution (2 minutes)
o The Problem: define the root of the problem, don’t just treat the symptoms (this
will make or break your strategy), identify the stakeholders (who is being hurt the
most, and who is best positioned to create change) (2 minutes)
o The Solution: spend the bulk of your presentation on this, helpful to give a
summary of your solution to the very beginning, break it down into 2-4 distinct
parts or phases (use visuals) (5 minutes)
▪ The best solutions are SMART: Smart, Measurable, Achievable,
Research Driven, Time Bound
o Relating to the readings: put in a few quotes that show how the class concepts
are best incorporated into your solution, Sacks/Armstrong/Freedman in particular
have tons of quotes to use
o Be specific, focus on a small but significant geographical area, employ religious
actors as a force for good, avoid relying solely on Us-Centric NGOs
o Practice the presentation, presentation skills are imperative, don’t put a bunch of
text on the slides, if you don’t know it don’t say it, if you have an all-star speaker
let them speak, steer away from broad terms and solutions like “the youth” and
“using social media”
o Think big but realistic, use emlogy, pitch your presentation to an intelligent but
uninformed audience, beware of kumaya, be emotionally prepared
o Inputs, Outputs, Outcomes, Impact chart
Freedman, Lawrence, Strategy Part Three: Chapters 22-24 (pp.321-390); Chapters 37-38
(pp.589-629)
• Chapter 22: Formulas, Myths and Propaganda
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Using social media : think big but realistic, use emlogy, pitch your presentation to an intelligent but uninformed audience, beware of kumaya, be emotionally prepared. Freedman, lawrence, strategy part three: chapters 22-24 (pp. 321-390); chapters 37-38 (pp. 589-629: chapter 22: formulas, myths and propaganda, majorities were inherently disorganized and individuals by definition lacked organization. So only minorities could stay organized, which meant that key political struggles must also take place within the elite. (322: the pareto principle suggested that 80 percent of effects came from 20 percent of the causes. This rough rule of thumb indicated that a minority of inputs could be responsible for a disproportionate share of outputs, in itself a challenge to notions of equality. Tarde was interested in how power could flow from some individuals as they were imitated by many others. Sacks, jonathan, not in god"s name, chapter 5 (pp.
