Transdisciplinary Approaches On Reconciliation Research

Reconciliation studies are concerned with the processes of rebuilding and improving damaged relationships after major wrongdoings. They focus on factors such as law, economics, and international relations, as well as on elements such as emotions and ethics, culture and religion, media and education. Reconciliation research therefore requires a transdisciplinary approach, to analyse both the procedures leading to the recognition of truth as well as those in which justice is administered; both the impact of public apologies and cooperation agreements; both the implementation of memory policies and civil society initiatives; both the outcomes of trauma therapy and intergenerational encounter groups. While on the surface the relationships in question are those between states, groups, organisations, and individuals, at a deeper level reconciliation always addresses and involves many axes of damaged relationships: those with others (intergroup); those with one's own group (intragroup); those with oneself; those with the environment; and those with transcendence. Reconciliation studies deal, therefore, with a much broader spectrum of relationships than that taken into consideration by neighbouring disciplines such as conflict resolution and peace studies. In this volume, Francesco Ferrari and Davide Tacchini brought together examples of Leiner's approach to reconciliation studies as a cooperative project of different disciplines. The articles are divided into two sections: 1. A series of case studies about Japan-South Korea relations, German-Czech reconciliation, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict using the methods of Martin Leiner, Sayyid Qutb view of American society, and South Africans revisiting TRC. 2. A series of theoretical clarifications on reconciliation and moderation from a Palestinian point of view, evolutionary game theory looking at reconciliation processes by a team of economists, grace and reconciliation from a Catholic theological point of view, philosophical reflections on the concept of reconciliation after Auschwitz, cognitive and affective aspects in reconciliation from a Catholic theological point of view, ecology and spatiality of reconciliation seen by a social geographer, and political dimensions of reconciliation.

Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its Calls to Action in June 2015, governments, churches, non-profit, professional and community organizations, corporations, schools and universities, clubs and individuals have asked: “How can I/we participate in reconciliation?” Recognizing that reconciliation is not only an ultimate goal, but a decolonizing process of journeying in ways that embody everyday acts of resistance, resurgence, and solidarity, coupled with renewed commitments to justice, dialogue, and relationship-building, Pathways of Reconciliation helps readers find their way forward. The essays in Pathways of Reconciliation address the themes of reframing, learning and healing, researching, and living. They engage with different approaches to reconciliation (within a variety of reconciliation frameworks, either explicit or implicit) and illustrate the complexities of the reconciliation process itself. They canvass multiple and varied pathways of reconciliation, from Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives, reflecting a diversity of approaches to the mandate given to all Canadians by the TRC with its Calls to Action. Together the authors — academics, practitioners, students and ordinary citizens — demonstrate the importance of trying and learning from new and creative approaches to thinking about and practicing reconciliation and reflect on what they have learned from their attempts (both successful and less successful) in the process.

Human heritage is an endless mine of knowledge, skills, ethos and accomplishments, which visualize and examine the power of human creativity and innovation throughout the history. The contributions cast an insight into the human psyche to perceive its Weltanschauung, and its way of thinking and making artefacts associated with knowledge, existence and identity in the context of other existing systems in the world. They demonstrate the diversity of topics as well as the state-of-the art of interdisciplinary approaches that participants of the Humboldt-Kolleg use in their research on cultural heritage, and confirm, once again, that the strengths of the Alexander von Humboldt Network should be celebrated and honoured. The present volume invites us to seek more novel research approaches that aim towards an understanding of the complex nature of human inheritance.

This book, sponsored by the Academic Alliance for Reconciliation Studies in the Middle East and North Africa (AARMENA), focuses on peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and shifts toward approaching the reconciliation process as an inter-, trans- and multidisciplinary field. The research presented in the series focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, highlighting contributions by practitioners and scholars alike. This volume showcases research on Heritage, Reconciliation, and Social Inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa. It reflects various inter-, trans- and multidisciplinary approaches applied both theoretically and practically, and explores conflict transformation and transitional shifts towards peacebuilding and reconciliation in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. The content is divided into five sections, the first of which examines the importance of reconciliation, peacebuilding, and social inclusion in contributions by experts in the field such as Martin Leiner, Wolfgang Dietrich, Mohammad Abu Nimer, Mohmmad Alshraideh and Iyad Aldajani. The second and third section explore digital humanities and the research sciences respectively, while the fourth turns to practices of heritage and reconciliation. The fifth section presents case studies on practices, conducted by expert researchers for heritage, reconciliation, and social inclusion in higher education.

Das Buch setzt die Reihe RIPAR fort, indem die bisher noch nicht behandelte MENA Region in den Mittelpunkt des Interesses rückt. Wegen der zahlreichen Kriege und Konflikte in diesem Raum sind weitere Bände geplant. Im vorliegenden Band geht es um Flüchtlinge und ihre vielfältigen Bedürfnisse nach Versöhnung mit sich selbst und anderen. Insbesondere Gefühle von Trauer und Schuld wegen des Zurücklassens der Heimat und von Teilen der Familie, schlimme Erlebnisse auf der Flucht, Konflikte mit anderen Flüchtlingen und mit Einheimischen, der Verlust eines großen Teils dessen, was dem Leben Sinn und Bedeutung verlieh, und die Schwierigkeiten einer Rückkehr in ein verändertes Land, eine Heimat, die sich vielleicht nicht mehr wie eine Heimat anfühlt, sind die einzelnen Facetten dieses Bedürfnisses nach Versöhnung. Aktivitäten der UN, von internationalen Organisationen zur Flüchtlingshilfe, von staatlichen Stellen, von Kommunen, NGOs, religiösen und humanitären Organisationen werden in diesem Buch dargestellt. Dabei kommen zahlreiche Forscherinnen und Forscher aus den Ländern der MENA-Region zu Wort. Sie beschreiben nicht nur gelungene Aktivitäten, sondern auch Schwierigkeiten zahlreicher Gesellschaften in der MENA-Region, die ursprünglich gastfreundliche Haltung zu den Flüchtlingen aufrechtzuerhalten. Ähnlich wie in Deutschland lassen sich letztlich absteigende Kurven der Akzeptanz der Flüchtlinge auch für Länder wie Jordanien, der Türkei oder den Libanon zeichnen. Das Buch führt aber auch vor Augen, wie große Aufgaben diese Länder durch die Flüchtlingsströme zu bewältigen haben und was auch an Anstrengungen unternommen worden ist. Neben Autorinnen und Autoren aus Marokko, Libyen, Ägypten, den Palästinensergebieten, Jordanien, dem Libanon und der Türkei, enthält der Band auch Texte aus deutscher, griechischer, italienischer und US-amerikanischer Sicht. Das Buch zeigt eine von Kriegen und Konflikten heimgesuchte Region, aber es zeigt auch Initiativen und Ansäze zu Versöhnung.

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezechiel 36:26). This biblical image, particularly significant for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, gives insight into the central issues of this book: how a greater readiness to reconcile can take place among individuals and groups who experience the "suffering of the other," even in the midst of a protracted conflict such as the Israeli-Palestinian one. This book offers a collection of essays written by the team members of a transdisciplinary DFG project between Jena University, Ben Gurion University, Tel Aviv University, and the Wasatia Academic Institute.

Demonstrating how a university can, in a very practical and pragmatic way, be re-envisioned through a transdisciplinary informed frame, this book shows how through an open and collegiate spirit of inquiry the most pressing and multifaceted issue of contemporary societal (un)sustainability can be addressed and understood in a way that transcends narrow disciplinary work. It also provides a practical exemplar of how far more meaningful deliberation, understandings and options for action in relation to contemporary sustainability-related crises can emerge than could otherwise be achieved. Indeed it helps demonstrate how only through a transdisciplinary ethos and approach can real progress be achieved. The fact that this can be done in parallel to (or perhaps underneath) the day-to-day business of the university serves to highlight how even micro seed initiatives can further the process of breaking down silos and reuniting C.P. Snow’s ‘two cultures’ after some four centuries of the relentless project of modernity. While much has been written and talked about with respect to both sustainability and transdisciplinarity, this book offers a pragmatic example which hopefully will signpost the ways others can, will and indeed must follow in our common quest for real progress.