Listening, Community Engagement, and Peacebuilding International Perspectives

This book explores the role of listening in community engagement and peacebuilding efforts, bridging academic research in communication and practical applications for individual and social change. For all their differences, community engagement and peacebuilding efforts share much in common: the need to establish and agree on achievable and measurable goals, the importance of trust, and the need for conflict management, to name but a few. This book presents listening – considered as a multi-disciplinary concept related to but distinct from civility, civic participation, and other social processes – as a primary mechanism for accomplishing these tasks. Individual chapters explore these themes in an array of international contexts, examining topics such as conflict resolution, restorative justice, environmental justice, migrants and refugees, and trauma-informed peacebuilding. The book includes contemporary literature reviews and theoretical insights covering the role of listening as related to individual, social, and governmental efforts to better engage communities and build, maintain, or establish peace in an increasingly divided world. This collection provides invaluable insight to researchers, students, educators, and practitioners in intercultural and international communication, conflict management, peacebuilding, community engagement, and international studies.

1. Listening, Community Engagement, and Peacebuilding: Defining Terms and Setting the Stage Graham D. Bodie, Debra L. Worthington, and Zenebe Beyene 2. Beyond the Town Hall: From Chaos to Collaboration in Community Listening Larry Schooler 3. Performative Listening and Solidarity: Critical Intercultural Communication and Community Engagement at the Margins Chris McRae, Ambar Basu, Parameswari Mukherjee, and Michael McDowell 4. Listening as a Tool for Transformative Change in Families and Neighborhoods: The Case of SALT Bobby Zachariah, Joske Bunders-Aelen, and Barbara Regeer 5. Light on Syria: Performance, Listening, and Community Engagement Andrew Cessna Jones and Aubrey Helene Neumann 6. Patterns of Engagement: Identifying Associations between Listening Styles and Community-News Consumption Eike Mark Rinke, Patricia Moy, and María E. Len-Ríos 7. Active Listening and "Serial Calling": Negotiating Public Space in Interactive Radio Iginio Gagliardone 8. Listeningand Peacebuilding Nichole Argo and Rachel Brown 9. Listening in Service of Trauma-Informed Peacebuilding Prabha Sankaranarayan, Mary Jo Harwood, and Ginny Morrison 10. Listening Performances as Transformative Mechanisms in the Context of Restorative Transitional Justice Scenarios: The Colombian Case Luis Carlos Sotelo Castro 11. The Role of Listening in the Transformation of Conflict: Implications for Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in Ethiopia Zenene Beyene and Berhanu Mengistu 12. Listening and Peacebuilding in Rwanda: Perspective of Homegrown Approaches Peter John Mugume, Josephine Mukabera, and Jane Umutoni 13. The Moral and Intellectual Virtue(s) of Listening Henrik Syse

Graham D. Bodie is Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication in the School of Journalism and New Media at The University of Mississippi, USA. Debra L. Worthington is Professor of Communication and Director of the School of Communication & Journalism at Auburn University, USA. Zenebe Beyene is Associate Professor and Coordinator of International Programs in the School of Journalism and New Media at The University of Mississippi, USA.