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
