Pedagogy

Vision: Making the fields of knowledge associated with shared society accessible to the broadest possible audience and equipping learners with tools for engaging constructively with difference.

Social and political polarization has intensified across the world in recent years. Polarization increases social distance between groups and undermines the ability to function within shared spaces. The phenomenon affects many countries and is particularly pronounced in multicultural societies. In Israel, a society composed of groups with different backgrounds, identities, and needs, such polarization is expressed daily in public institutions, organizations, workplaces, and communities.

There is therefore a growing need for broad-based student training in how to engage with difference. Such capabilities are relevant to every field of study and every professional career. Public and private organizations now operate in multicultural and diverse environments; policy design requires an understanding of heterogeneous populations; and technological innovation can succeed only when it is responsive to diverse users. The ability to understand different constituencies, manage differences, and address disagreement has become a foundational professional competency.

Our aim is to provide students in every field of study with tools for understanding and managing work in diverse environments: to examine how identities, worldviews, and social backgrounds shape interaction, workplace relations, and decision-making; to develop sensitivity to different perspectives; to identify barriers to effective work with diverse populations; and to apply disciplinary knowledge within complex social settings.

Undergraduate Courses

Undergraduate Academic Specialization

Frieze Alumni Network

The Mobile Lab

Taking Academia into the Field

The Mobile Lab is a partnership between the Frieze Center and the University of Haifa Youth Programs, designed to make academic knowledge accessible to school students from peripheral communities in northern Israel. As part of the program, educational and academic teams will travel directly to participating communities and offer activities in science, technology, the social sciences, and shared-society studies. The program seeks to expose young people to academia at an early age, cultivate curiosity and a sense of self-efficacy, and provide tools for learning, critical thinking, and engagement with children and adolescents from different groups in Israeli society.

The distinctive feature of the Mobile Lab is its integration of academic knowledge with shared social values and competencies as an integral part of every course. Across disciplines, students will also engage with questions of difference, diversity, cooperation, and encounters among perspectives. In this way, academic learning becomes a space for developing attentive listening, shared responsibility, and the capacity to act collectively from a plurality of viewpoints.

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Our Courses

Identity and Belonging in a Multicultural Society – Dr. Mirit Hayavi Barak

This course examines how identity and belonging are formed in a multicultural society, considering both the individual and groups and the relations among them.

The course moves from the individual to society: it begins by examining processes of self-construction through socialization and interaction, and then considers the formation of groups, social boundaries, conflicts, and intergroup encounters. It explores different approaches to managing cultural diversity and examines the tensions among personal identity, group identity, and social belonging.

The course then considers processes of recognition, inequality, and privilege as part of a broader web of intergroup relations, and concludes by examining the possibility of building a shared society – a society in which different groups live together through mutual recognition, participation, and cooperation.

Managing Conflict and Diversity in Israeli Society – Dr. Assaf Turgeman

The course surveys the principal cleavages in Israeli society by tracing their roots in Israeli social and political life. It addresses the Jewish – Arab conflict, the religious – secular divide, ethnic cleavages, and the constitutional revolution and its implications for contemporary political divisions.

Skills for Managing Diversity and Conflict across Life Domains – Dr. Ran Kuttner

This course develops skills for managing difference and conflicts arising from difference across multiple settings – from the interpersonal level, through the intergroup level, to the national level. Participants will acquire tools for collaborative dialogue, negotiation, and conflict management, while becoming familiar with the theories underlying the approaches studied. The course will also examine how these approaches can support constructive management of disputes surrounding social cleavages and polarization that undermine cohesion and resilience in different arenas in Israel. Accordingly, participants will acquire both conceptual frameworks and practical skills for action in the social sphere.

The course is reflective in character and, from its outset, invites students to examine how the material challenges their own assumptions and leadership practices, how they might wish to apply it in their personal lives, and what obstacles may stand in the way.

Practical Strategies for Engaging with Diversity in Israeli Society – Dr. David Barak-Gorodetsky

The course offers an in-depth examination of the political and social tensions between conservatives and liberals in Israel, while providing a practical toolkit for conducting dialogue in conditions of disagreement. The theoretical component explores the roots of polarization, focusing on the central role of religion and state, their influence on public policy, and the historical analysis of political strategies and case studies that have shaped Israeli society. This foundation supports the practical component, in which participants practice and acquire skills in deep listening, managing complex dialogue, and recognizing different perspectives. By combining academic analysis with experiential learning and simulations, the course develops the capacity for respectful and meaningful dialogue in situations of disagreement and provides practical tools for building trust and reducing tensions across identity-based, cultural, and political divides.

Undergraduate Academic Specialization

At a time when social and political polarization is deepening and the distance between groups is growing, the ability to understand difference and operate effectively in a diverse society has become an essential skill in every field of study and professional career.

In the 2026 – 27 academic year, Israel’s first academic specialization in diversity management will be launched under the leadership of the Frieze Center for Shared Society.

Students from all fields of study at the University of Haifa will be able to acquire practical and theoretical tools for working in a complex multicultural environment, develop sensitivity to different perspectives, and connect their disciplinary and professional knowledge to the challenges facing Israeli society.

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Frieze Alumni Network

The network brings together participants from all of the Center’s programs and activities into a single professional community with a shared language, applied knowledge, and a capacity for collective action. Within the broader network, potential change agents are identified and developed through focused training, based on the understanding that their activities can generate particularly significant impact.