Transforming Conflict through Communication in Personal, Family, and Working Relationships

Contributions by Starla Anderson, Maria Blevins, Teresa Blevins, Ian M. Borton, Ross Brinkert, Amanda Smith Byron, Phillip Glenn, Kimberly K. Harp, Brian L. Heisterkamp, London Hill, Gwen Hullman, Jessica Katz Jameson, Peter M. Kellett, Rachel Markowitz, Thomas G. Matyók, Joy Meeker, Claire Morledge, Gregory D. Paul, Elizabeth A. Pitts, Samantha Rae Powers, Linda L. Putnam, Lisa Raser, Sarah E. Riforgiate, Roy Schwartzman University of North Carol, Diane Sherlip, Tasha Souza, Mary Adams Trujillo, Nancy Vizenor, Lynne M. Webb Edited by Peter M. Kellett, Thomas G. Matyók

Publication date:

15 November 2016

Length of book:

434 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

238x157mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781498515016

A transformational approach to conflict argues that conflicts must be viewed as embedded within broader relational patterns and social and discursive structures. Central to this book is the idea that the origins of transformation can be momentary, situational, and small-scale or large-scale and systemic. The momentary involves shifts and meaningful changes in communication and related patterns that are created in communication between people. Momentary transformative changes can radiate out into more systemic levels, and systemic transformative changes can radiate inward to more personal levels. This book engages this transformative framework by bringing together current scholarship that epitomizes and highlights the contribution of communication scholarship and communication-centered approaches to conflict transformation in personal, family, and working relationships and organizational contexts. The resulting volume presents an engaging mix of scholarly chapters, think pieces, and personal experiences from the field of practice and everyday life. The book embraces a wide variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, including narrative, critical, intersectional, rhetorical, and quantitative. It makes a valuable additive contribution to the ongoing dialogue across and between disciplines on how to transform conflicts creatively, sustainably, and ethically.

Chapter One Contradictions and Dialectics as Keys to Conflict Transformation
Chapter Two Compassion and Mindfulness in Conflict Transformation
Chapter Three Transforming Indian Dowry Conflict: A Shero’s Narrative
Chapter Four Transformation of Persecution in Holocaust Survivor Testimonies
Chapter Five Communication and Conflict: An Intersectional Lens
Chapter Six My Work Ethic--My Everything: A Personal Narrative of Conflict Transformation in Service Industry Work
Chapter Seven A Bona Fide Perspective of Restorative Justice: Implications for
Researchers and Practitioners
Chapter Eight Transforming Marital Conflict through Restorative Justice
Chapter Nine Disputant Storytelling and Conflict Transformation in Mediation
Chapter Ten Formulation Sequences in Mediation: One Locus of Conflict
Transformation
Chapter Eleven Segmented Silence in Mediation: Mitigating the Effects of Cognitive
Overload
Chapter Twelve Family Communication Environment and Communication Behavior in
Conflicts: Reports from Parents and their Young-Adult Children
Chapter Thirteen Emotional Intelligence and Conflict in Romantic Relationships among
College Students
Chapter Fourteen Promoting Ontological Insecurity to Transform the Governance of Science
Chapter Fifteen Emergent Paradigms of Organizational Justice:
Legalistic, Restorative, and Retributive Justice in the Workplace
Chapter Sixteen“Socializing” Ideas: Exploring the Transformational Impact of Leadership and Conflict Practices
Chapter SeventeenGratitude Communication as Workplace Conflict Management:
Advancing a Strategy and Tactic for Positive Narrative Expansion
Chapter Eighteen Art as an Aid to Solidify Students’ Understanding of How Narrative Theory Helps Uncover Relational Conflict Dynamics
Chapter Nineteen Conflict Games: A Framework and Case Study of Sport for Development and Peace
Chapter Twenty Transforming Conflict in the Classroom: Best Practices for Facilitating Difficult Dialogues and Creating an Inclusive Communication Climate

An important volume that once again demonstrates the immense value of a communication perspective on conflict. Throughout the chapters there are useful insights for conflict scholars, practitioners, and stakeholders.