Metaphor and Reconciliation: The Discourse Dynamics of Empathy in Post-Conflict Conversations

by Cameron; Lynne J.

• ISBN13: 9780415956758
• ISBN10: 0415956757
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781136872907
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-11-08
• Publisher: Routledge
• More Book Details

Summary

Sixteen years after her father was killed by an IRA bomb, Jo Berry had her first conversation with the man responsible. She had made a long journey, #xE2;#xAC;#xDC;walking the footsteps of the bombers#xE2;#xAC;" as she put it, determined not to give in to anger and revenge but to try to understand his motivations and perspective. Her preparedness to meet Pat Magee opened up a path to empathy that developed through their conversations over the following years. This book studies their growing understandings of each other by focusing on the rich networks of metaphors that appear in their conversations, and how these evolve in the process of reconciliation. The innovative research method, reported in a rigorous but accessible style, together with the rich and often poignant data, make this book a valuable addition to the study of metaphor and discourse. In uncovering the development of empathy between these two extraordinary people, Cameron illuminates the moral necessity, and the potential rewards, in trying to imagine the world and mind of the Other. Implications are drawn for how mediators in reconciliation contexts might make positive use of metaphor in supporting the dynamics of empathy.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. ix
List of Tables	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Transcription Conventions	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Coming Together: Background to the Conciliation Process	p. 1
The Discourse Dynamics Approach to Metaphor and Empathy	p. 13
Metaphor Analysis	p. 34
Conciliation as Journeys of Understanding and Listening to Stories	p. 58
Metaphor Clusters and Absences	p. 81
Connection and Separation in Conciliation	p. 93
Becoming Involved in Violence	p. 110
The Impact of Violence	p. 129
Appropriating the Other's Metaphors	p. 153
Metaphor, Reconciliation and the Dynamics of Empathy	p. 171
Images of Empathy	p. 185
Appendix: Using Metaphor in Reconciliation-Implications for Mediators	p. 191
Notes	p. 195
Bibliography	p. 199
Index	p. 205
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