Community Dispute Resolution (Small Claims Court)
F05, S06, F06
Peter Pagnucco, Daniel Michaelson
This is an intermediate course in the study and practice of mediation. Students observe, research, and co-mediate with professional mediators in small claims court in superior court in Bennington and Manchester, VT. We explore the nature of community dispute resolution and how landlord/tenant, small business, and neighborhood disputes are structured and resolved. How the adversarial process of court and the collaborative process of mediation are contrasted and juxtaposed are subjects of investigation in this course. Students write a short paper on each mediation observed or comediated, analyzing why a particular dispute was resolved or not. Students taking this as a four-credit course create/investigate/implement a community dispute project of their own choosing.