Latest articles
Pre- and post-conflict perspectives of identity and culture in Uganda
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This article is an extract of a comparative study on Identity, Culture and Conflict in Refugee (Oruchinga Valley) and Returnee Communities (Gulu) in Uganda. The study is mainly qualitative in design, with quantitative data provided to show the amplitude of the issues that returnees struggle with. As an in-depth investigation into the 'returning home process', the study uses respondents' personal narratives to explain not just the behaviour or opinions of returnees but also their context within the transitory post-conflict period. The study employs mainly qualitative research methods drawn… Read more
From talk to text — Using the 'Conversation Analytic Role-play Method' to engage (potential) mediation clients in spoken and written communication
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The Evolution of the Conversation Analytic Role-play Method The Conversation Analytic Role-play Method, or CARM, is an approach to communication training based on conversation analytic (CA) research. CA studies recordings of real-time interaction and the activities that comprise it; the way those activities are designed, and how different designs lead to different outcomes. Focusing on both spoken and embodied (e.g., gaze, gesture) resources, CA investigates the organizational structure and sequence of different phases of talk, such as openings or closings, as well as the organization and… Read more
Reading between the lines — Life through literature in a prison reading group
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In Northern Ireland, the complexities of literary fiction are embraced for their capacity to unite. Every week, I read literature with female prisoners at a Belfast prison. We read aloud and discuss short stories, novels and poetry. This evokes emotional responses, reflections on personal experiences and memories of things that are not often easily accessible. It is, for all of us, a deeply engaging reading experience. The literature we read and the resulting discussions also generate conflicts within the group, highlighting social and personal differences. The conflict and recognition of… Read more
LinC's Lesley and Jim on the Middle Way Society's Podcast
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Language in Conflict's Lesley Jeffries and Jim O'Driscoll recently made an appearance on the Middle Way Society's own… Read more
The ever-changing nature of 'the Balkan'
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One of the most recurrent metaphors used to discuss conflict is 'the Balkan'. A designation for the mountain range that… Read more
Language in Conflict in Babel magazine
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Language in Conflict recently made an appearance in Babel, a print magazine about language and linguistics. In her… Read more
Root causes — 'Peace' and 'conflict'
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For those of us living in parts of the world such as the United Kingdom or United States, conflicts such as the ongoing… Read more
Language and the Syrian conflict
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In the modern media, a conflict such as the on-going battle over the future of Syria generates a huge amount of press… Read more
Observations on face in mediation
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Mediation is the bringing together of parties who are in conflict and a mediator in order to hold a conversation.… Read more
In the News — Opposition
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Oppositions seem to be fundamental to the way we think about the world around us. Left/right, black/white, hot/cold –… Read more
In the News — Metaphor
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Metaphor allows us to talk about things in a descriptive or poetic way, and gives us a fresh way of thinking about… Read more
Making sense of war and trauma through poetry
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I covered violent conflicts as a producer for the BBC for ten years from 2000. My most challenging role was acting as… Read more
Where they stand — How Europe talks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
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As a linguist, what interests me about political debate is not just what people say. I am also interested in how they… Read more
Language, conflict and incarceration in Northern Ireland and Wales
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Although the Northern Irish conflict is one of the most heavily researched, it remains fertile ground for conflict… Read more
When is a terrorist a terrorist?
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'The problem we had then was the terrorists,' began the former soldier. A veteran of the Second World War, victory over… Read more
'Threat' and 'risk' — Their part in the Iraq war
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There remains some doubt in the aftermath of the Iraq war as to whether Saddam Hussein's regime was as dangerous as the… Read more
'The author and the princess' — An example of Critical Discourse Analysis
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This article provides an example of how Critical Discourse Analysis can be used to analyse texts. By looking at the… Read more