VIP Lab Fellows Present Research Exploring Power Inequalities and Violence

On October 16 and 17, the first cohort of VIP Lab Fellows convened at the University of San Diego to share the results and findings of their 10-month long research efforts. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs kicked off the convening with opening remarks, reinforcing the importance of addressing power dynamics to prevent and resolve violence. 

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and Kroc School Dean Darren Kew

Last year, Congresswoman Jacobs advocated to help secure the funding for the VIP Lab Fellowship through Congress' 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. This funding enabled the VIP Lab to support the work of two residential and six non-residential fellows pursuing cutting edge research on the intersection of power inequalities and violence. It was a full circle moment for Congresswoman Jacobs, a former Kroc School Visiting Scholar, to welcome guests and set the stage for the two-day convening focused on the Fellows' findings. 

VIP Lab Fellows, Kroc IPJ staff, and convening guests at the University of San Diego

Over the course of two days, invited guests, Fellows and the VIP Lab explored how the Fellows' research could shift the way we think about drivers of violence and the importance of introducing new and more representative perspectives in the violence research field. During the final sessions, the group reflected on the practical steps and initiatives that relevant entities could pursue to respond, mitigate, and manage drivers of violence.

The seminar topics included:

• Reclaiming Power: Group Identity Formation as Resistance to Economic and Political Change (Fellows Biko Koenig and Mirna Wasef)
• Surviving Global Colonial Power: Legacies of Structural Violence in Indigenous and Artisanal Fishing Communities in South and Central America (Fellows Areli Palomo Contreras and Dayanna Palmar Uriana)
• How Men Mobilize: Maintaining Status, Retaining Power, Pursuing 'Peace' Comparative Studies of the US and Nigeria (Fellows Tarila Marclint Ebiede and Biko Koenig)
• Reimagining Futures through Memory, Narrative and the Stories Told: Power and Violence as a Reductionist Approach to Identity (Fellows Cherrell Green, Mardiya and Mirna Wasef)

A summary of the meeting's key findings and the VIP Lab Fellows’ final research papers will be shared in the coming weeks on our website. Follow the VIP Lab on LinkedIn for updates.