Sara Cobb (Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst) is an Associate Professor at ICAR; at present she is on sabbatic leave, conducting research on the relationship between narrative and policy in the context of community conflicts, as well as in the context of post-conflict regions. She is writing a book on narrative approaches to conflict analysis and resolution. Through her research, she has specialized in the analysis of conflict narratives and has contributed to the critique of "neutrality" in conflict resolution processes. Dr. Cobb has published widely in communication studies and legal studies, supported by grants from the Ford Foundation and the UN High Commission on Refugees. She has held both administrative and academic positions at a variety of research institutions including Harvard Law School, University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Connecticut. She has consulted to a host of family-owned businesses in North and South America, as well as to public and private organizations, including UN High Commission on Refugees, La Caxia Bank, and Exxon. She has conducted training for the American Bar Association, Fox Learning Academy and a number of universities in Europe and Latin America. The blend of academic research, program development, and practice enables Dr. Cobb to offer both systematic critique of traditional methods for conflict intervention, as well as new methods for intervention that focus on the transformation of narratives in conflict processes.

From 2001 through June 2009 she was Director of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR) at George Mason University. During that time, ICAR doubled in size and complexity, increasing programs and the size of the faculty, as well as the student body. External funding increased 4-5 fold, and endowments were added. Additionally, Point of View, ICAR's research and conference site was opened. Despite these changes, ICAR's strong commitment to social justice and to integrating theory with practice continued; these commitments tie ICAR-in-the-present, to its history of responding to the suffering of human beings in protracted conflicts.

Graduate Courses

Narrative Approaches to Conflict Analysis (CONF 695)

Narrative Research Methods: Exploring the Link between Inquiry and Intervention
(CONF 695)

Advanced Research Methods II (CONF 812)

Integrating Theory, Practice and Method in Conflict Analysis (CONF 900)

Selected Publications

Cobb, S. A developmental approach to “turning points”” Towards an ethics for negotiation practice. Accepted for publication in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review. 2005

Cobb, S. Fostering coexistence in identity-based conflicts: Towards a narrative approach. In A. Chayes and M. Minow (Eds.), Imagine Coexistence. Jossey Bass: San Francisco: pp. 294-310. 2004.

Cobb, S. Creating sacred space: Toward a second-generation dispute resolution practice. Fordham Urban Law Journal. 28(4):1017-1031. 2001.

Cobb, S. Special Issue: Private Pain, Public Entertainment. Human Systems: The Journal of Systemic Consultation and Management. Volume 8(3-4). (Guest Editor). 1998.

Imagine Coexistence