Discourses of Conflict and Reconciliation

general courses

general knowledge of social communication

Classroom

The course describes communicative ways of conflict management and resolution in public and private domains. It focuses on a wide spectrum of disputes in their intra/interpersonal, intergroup, international, regional and historical disclosures. They are presented as a consequence of culturally rooted violence observed in cases of social perpetration, abuse, segregation,exclusion,etc. Their transmission runs through confrontational linguistic practices, such as verbal aggression, lying, manipulation, propaganda or coercion. A response to such oppressive behaviours are linguistic strategies of alternative dispute resolution. They include such forms of communication as mediation, arbitration, commemoration or therapy, as well as other democratic means of problem-solving, such as social consultations or deliberative debates. They all instantiate processes of ‘cross-cultural dialogue’, whose essence is barrier crossing and reconciliation for the common good of involved parties.

The recent drive towards cultural integration in major social domains is a response to the progressing need for closer interpersonal/intergroup cooperation. The latter has always functioned as the most reliable force safeguarding balance in interhuman relations and natural ways of conflict avoidance. Despite some efforts undertaken today towards implementing/extending pluralistic and democratic procedures, the integration tendencies are often paralleled with sustained or growing social divisions. These are linguistically manifest in acts of social segregation, marginalization and exclusion. Instead of building respect and understanding, they convert interhuman exchange into communicative chaos, antagonism and violence. Such oppressive activities are easily transformed into physical aggression, including fights, warfare or terrorist attacks. In the light of the (still) growing cultural and interactive dissonance in different regions of the world, questions arise as to the role of linguists in proposing solutions to the communicative distrust, polarisation, coercion and manipulation that penetrate both public and private domains.

The aim of this course is to address the possibilities of overcoming different forms of the ‘communication crisis’ by studying discourse strategies that can neutralise confrontational positions and prevent their dissemination. Are there any alternatives to oppressive styles and exclusionary rhetoric in public and private spheres? Under which conditions and by which linguistic means can the conflictual behaviours be transformed into substantial ‘cross-cultural dialogue’? The latter is meant to transcend particularistic interests with a view to negotiating constructive and efficient ways of problem-solving, conflict-management/resolution and reconciliation. The above problems pose questions about speakers’ responsibility in conscious selecting, rejecting, modifying and creating their own local and global linguistic practices. Their critical and reflective choice is a key factor in people’s self-understanding, self-definition and self-constitution. It also represents a major source of personal self-constancy, uniqueness and dignity as fundamental constituents of basic human ethics in the modern world.

student's contribution to the course: 3 ECTS

30h - participation in the classes

20h - reading assignments

25h - homework

15h - preparation of the semester project

Arendt, Hannah. 1998. The Human Condition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bush, Robert A. Baruch / Joseph P. Folger. 2005. The Promise of Mediation. The Transformative Approach to Conflict. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cloke, Kenneth. 2001. Mediating Dangerously. The Frontiers of Conflict Resolution. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ensink, Titus / Christoph Sauer (eds.). 2003. The Art of Commemoration. Fifty Years after the Warsaw Uprising. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Gójska, Agata et al. 2012. Konsultacje społeczne w przestrzeni wielkomiejskiej. Warszawa: Polskie Towarzystwo Socjologiczne.

Grillo, Eric. (ed.). 2005. Power without Domination. Dialogism and the Empowering Property of Communication. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Grimshaw, Allen D. (ed.). 1990. Conflict Talk. Sociolinguistic Investigations of Arguments in Conversations. Cambridge: CUP.

Gutmann, Amy / Dennis Thompson. 1996. Democracy and Disagreement. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Habermas, Jürgen. 1984. The Theory of Communicative Action. Vol. 1. Reason and the Rationalization of Society. Boston: Beacon Press.

Muntigl, Peter. 2004. Narrative Counselling. Social and Linguistic Processes of Change. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Pawelczyk, Joanna. 2010. Talk as Therapy. Linguistic Investigations in Psychotherapy. Poznań: UAM.

Reykowski, Janusz (ed.) 2007. Konflikt i porozumienie. Psychologiczne podstawy demokracji deliberatywnej. Warszawa: Academica.

Ricoeur, Paul. 1992. Oneself as Another. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

Rogers, Carl. 2002. O stawaniu się osobą. Poglądy terapeuty na psychoterapię. Poznań: Rebis.

Skarżyńska, Krystyna / Urszula Jakubowska / Jacek Wasilewski (eds.). 2007. Konflikty międzygrupowe. Przejawy, źródła i metody rozwiązywania. Warszawa: Academica.

Tanner, Deborah. 1998. The Argument Culture. Moving from Debate to Dialogue. New York: Random House.

Verdoolaege, Annelis. 2008. Reconciliation Discourse. The Case of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Wesołowska, Elżbieta. 2010. Deliberatywne rozwiązywanie konfliktów wartości. Wielość dróg do porozumienia. Olsztyn: Wydawnictwo UWM.

Winslade, John / Gerald Monk. 2000. Narrative Mediation. A New Approach to Conflict Resolution. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

KNOWLEDGE

The student:

- has a broadened knowledge of the relations between linguistics, linguistic discourse analysis and social semiotics with broadly understood humanities and social sciences to an extent that allows them to integrate research perspectives originating in these disciplines;

- knows advanced methods developed by linguistics, linguistic discourse analysis and social semiotics, allowing them to problematize, analyze and interpret phenomena in the fields of culture, interpersonal communication and social discourses;

- has a deepened knowledge of man as a creator and participant of social and cultural discourses;

SKILLS

The student

- can use the achievements of modern linguistics, linguistic discourse analysis and social semiotics for the purpose of critical analysis and interpretation of cultural artifacts and intellectual and ideological currents. The student can identify the measures which build their meaning and social impact;

- can analyse the complex relation between the medium and the message, as well as the influence that they exert on each other.

COMPETENCE

The student

- is a critical and conscious language user in social space;

- is a competent and responsibile initiator of social dialogue in their cultural environment.

grade credit (100% of the final grade) - based on oral presentations of semester projects

Assessment criteria:

- coverage of the course material

- students’ ability to express themselves orally on a specific research topic

The condition to approach the final evaluation is participation in the course, with the maximum of 2 absences allowed.

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