Columns
We Need to Talk about Moral Panics
There’s no great mystery to the success of Moral panics. They work their way through our societies, spreading their message and the fear involved to those who are all too willing to listen. The waiting audience will always welcome them with open arms because at their heart, moral panics appeal to the worst parts of conservative belief.
As a result, a... [Read more]
An oversight of gender equality within politics, the workplace and academia in the UK
Dr Meghan Campbell is a senior lecturer in Law at the University of Birmingham. Her research explores how the international human rights system can best respond to gender inequality and poverty. She is also the Deputy Director of the Oxford Human Rights Hub.
Dr Meghan Campbell structured her talk by covering three specific issues that need addressing to work towards a... [Read more]
Patient Public Involvement: what it is and why it matters in the context of dialogue
Patient Public Involvement (PPI) is a type of work that involves an active engagement of service users, carers and the public in the planning, commissioning, conducting and evaluation of research. This simply means giving voice to people, either patients or the public to be heard, ensuring that their views, knowledge and experiences are listened to when developing and designing research... [Read more]
Gender, Power and Leadership in Troubled Times
‘The secret weapon in the fight against coronavirus is women’, proclaimed The Guardian in April 2020. The paper was not alone in highlighting that many of the countries thought to be initially tackling this global pandemic most effectively – Germany, Taiwan, New Zealand, Finland, Iceland – were led by women.
The headline attention given to these women, however, belies the underlying... [Read more]
Mental Health and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in the UK
On 24th September 2020, the Dialogue Society hosted an event on BAME women and mental health. As one of the panellists, I am writing to highlight the take-home messages from this live conversation. Mental health disparities exist among BAME and it is evidenced that immigrants and their descendants are at higher risk of developing mental health disorders than the majority... [Read more]
“The Dark-houred Clock”: Embodiment and Abstraction in Celan’s Poetry
Celan’s poetry is replete with metaphors that function in various ways. This article looks at two opposed functions of metaphor there: embodiment and abstraction. The dual metaphorical functions will be studied as used in three themes of Celan’s language: (1) language as expression and as concealment, (2) interaction with the Other as a key to self-constitution, and (3) the drawing... [Read more]
Promoting and Advancing Multicultural Dialogues in Education
Introduction
This article addresses debates around current multicultural dialogues in education. It also plots the journey of the promotion of an edited collection on this which has been supported by The Dialogue Society (Race, 2018). The article begins with contextual sections on the concepts of multiculturalism and interculturalism in education. Contemporary and relevant events such as Brexit, Prevent and the Shamima... [Read more]
How Does the Act of ‘Speaking in Tongues’ Contribute to a Theology of Place?
My recent paper in the Journal of Dialogue Studies illustrates how the Pentecostal practice of ‘speaking in tongues’ resembles a dynamic of interplay, which develops a place to experience what some might call ‘the activity of the Spirit’. According to the claim of this paper, the dynamic of this practice should emulate the transitional stages of infant development, where the... [Read more]
Resilience in Dialogue
‘Resilience’ is the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape, the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. One must know that resilience is an ability, which indicates that one needs to undergo training and reflections on one’s process of dialogue. Dialogues are not easy; it is not merely walking up to someone and talking face to... [Read more]
Op-ed in Le Monde: Muslims, we have to critically review our understanding of Islam
Words fall short to truly express my deep sadness and revolt in the face of the carnage perpetrated by terrorist groups such as the so-called ISIS. I share
a profound frustration with a billion and a half Muslims around the world at the fact that such groups commit terror while dressing up their... [Read more]
Islamophobia and the Paradox of Hate Crime
The number of Muslims attacked each week in London more than tripled after the Paris terrorist attack on November 13 and mosques in France and the USA have
experienced an increase in threats and vandalism. The pattern is not new. Islamophobia and Islamophobic hate crimes tend to flare up on the heels of
... [Read more]
Fethullah Gülen on Acts of Terrorism – in light of Paris and Beirut
Once again terrorists have struck out at innocent people in Paris and Beirut. To add insult to injury, as if that were possible at this level of depravity, the terrorists claim a religious justification for their heinous attacks. While it is clear that nothing of any worth can justify such barbarous acts, hundreds of Muslim scholars and thousands of Muslim... [Read more]
Context: A Canvas for Dialogue
In my constant effort to understand ‘dialogue’ in various areas of life, I have been trying to find the core proponent of dialogue between humans, without which humans would find it difficult to engage in dialogue. This core proponent of dialogue as I argue can be termed as ‘context’. Upon further reflection, I realised that it is the context which... [Read more]
Reflections on MA in Dialogue Studies
My ten weeks work replacement at the Dialogue Society London branch is now over; the placement covered late January- early April 2015. At the end, I am
quite confident to say my work replacement experience was quite productive in view of my educational background. It was in late January that I had started
... [Read more]
Violent extremist ideology: Islam by implication or absolutism by nature
Violent extremism is the combustible outcome of a cocktail of ingredients including, but not restricted to, identity crisis, perceived grievances, sense of
stigmatization and helplessness, past criminality, charismatic recruiter and ideology. In the recent White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism,
Obama refused to label the Isis and Al-Qaeda “ideology”... [Read more]
The Power of Vulnerability in Dialogue
The word vulnerability is often used powerfully to refer to the powerless, to show inability of an individual or community to withstand a situation or an
emotion. The word vulnerability to me seems resigned, where one kills the possibility of creation of a new alternative or experiencing a new emotion. It
was an eye... [Read more]
Dialogue in Praxis
In the recent past, the scope for misunderstanding and conflict to thrive in our societies has grown; in such a scenario having the wisdom to engage in
dialogue is imperative. The word ‘dialogue’ is often used in speeches, inter-faith forums, and peace proposals as a way to resolve conflicts and other
... [Read more]
On the Islamic-ness of calling Isis un-Islamic
Recently, as one of the two directors of the Dialogue Society in London, I co-signed a letter with another 21 British Muslims; the letter was addressed to Prime Minister David Cameron and called on him to stop referring to Isis (I use the letters as a name, not an acronym) as the “Islamic state,” but instead to use a more... [Read more]
Reflections on Dialogue (II)
Globalisation means many things, but it certainly means one thing above all: that people are pushed together closer and closer around the globe. The great
distances that separated people and cultures in the past are vanishing. We live on one ship, often called “spaceship earth” and we have to communicate with
... [Read more]
Reflections on Dialogue (I)
Perhaps the most important form of dialogue in the history of almost all cultures is sharing a meal together, breaking bread together. That kind of
dialogue is much more fundamental and meaningful than empty chattering between people. So I would like to take the notion of dialogue in that broad sense
... [Read more]
Theorising Dialogue for Community Development Practice
The article consists of a systematic exploration of some of the crucial work on dialogue that the author has concluded is relevant for community development theory and practice. The perspective taken draws on the work of leading thinkers from different places and disciplines, including Hans-Georg Gadamer, Martin Buber, David Bohm, Paulo Freire and Mikhail Bakhtin. Each contributes insights that enhance... [Read more]
A Perspective on Cultural Pluralism
One of the aspects of Human Rights is Cultural Rights. What is culture? In simple words, ‘culture is a way of life’. Anthropologist Edward B Tylor defines culture as a ‘complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society’. This definition was considered important,... [Read more]
Parenting Style and Family Education of Chinese Immigrants
When talking about Chinese pupils in western countries, people generally have the impression that they work hard and achieve good examination scores. A report by the Department of Education shows that the percentage of Chinese pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C GCSEs or iGCSEs in England is 17.6% above the national average. 35.1% of Chinese... [Read more]
Dialogue through Theatre
Recognizing that humans have a unique ability to take action in the world while simultaneously observing themselves in action, August Boal, the famous Brazilian director, artist and activist who introduced Theatre of the Oppressed, believed that the human was a self-contained theatre, actor and spectator in one. Because we can observe ourselves in action, we can amend, adjust and alter... [Read more]
Debates and Decisions
In any debate, the purpose of which is to take a collective decision, the decision-making process to be used at the end of those deliberations will determine the nature of that debate. If that process is dichotomous, participants are likely to take sides and divide into two opposing camps; thus the atmosphere in debate is likely to become (perhaps bitterly)... [Read more]
Building a Culture of Dialogue
Culture is a way of life, which is influenced by one’s world view, environment, and upbringing. It progresses from enculturation to assimilation. It guides us at each stage of life, helping us make choices and decisions. One area of culture that I wanted to understand was ‘the culture of dialogue’. The power of dialogue has immense potential to deepen the... [Read more]
Intergroup Dialogue: a Theoretical Positioning
It has been premised that group based dialogue may be viewed in terms of face-to-face facilitated conversation between members of two or more social identity groups for the purpose of new levels of understanding, relating, and action (Zuniga 2003). Such an orientation, which reproduces standard understandings of dialogue, nevertheless presents two conceptual problems.
The first area concerns the manner in... [Read more]
Studying Dialogue – Some Reflections
The idea of establishing ‘dialogue studies’ as a distinct field of enquiry, and a new journal to provide a forum for scholarship on dialogue, raises some interesting questions. One of the aims for this journal, as stated on its website, is to ‘bring together a body of original scholarship on the theory and practice of dialogue that can be critically... [Read more]
Future Directions and Discipline Formation for ‘Dialogue Studies’
Future Directions and Discipline Formation for ‘Dialogue Studies’: Reflections on Critically Analyzing ‘Dialogue’ in Theory and Practice
Fern Elsdon-Baker
In considering the need for a newly formed research area, or emergent discipline, of ‘dialogue studies’ this paper will explore three interrelated themes: the concept of ‘dialogue studies’ and its parameters and framing as an emergent discipline; the potential benefits of such... [Read more]
Reflections on Dialogue Theories
Reflections on Dialogue Theories
This review was first presented by Dr Athina Karatzogianni as part of the Dialogue Theories book launch at the University of Hull on November 28th, 2013, published here with the author’s permission.
This book makes a significant and engaging contribution to the literature on dialogue, while also being accessible to a wider public. Dialogue, whether between religions... [Read more]
On Dialogue Studies
Donal Carbaugh
University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
On Dialogue Studies
Dialogue has become a powerful term and form of action in many academic, linguistic, and cultural communities. Over the past few years, several conferences have been convened to examine dialogue, intercultural dialogue, dialogic communication, or dialogic approaches to inquiry. Examples of these groupings are many including the Center for Intercultural Dialogue and the... [Read more]
Reflections on Dialogue Theories
The Rev Dr June Boyce-Tillman, Professor of Applied Music, the University of Winchester
This review was first presented by Dr Boyce-Tillman as part of the Dialogue Theories book launch at the Dialogue Society London office on July 2nd, 2013.
The music for the chants is available from june.boyce-tillman@winchester.ac.uk
CHANT: Sing of a place, a flowering field where divisions end I’ll meet you... [Read more]
Dialogue Through Music
In my secondary school years I was part of the school choir, practicing the whole year for a performance at the end of the year as part of the graduation ceremony. We would sing pieces ranging from Turkish folk songs to songs from the Beatles, and we would practice incessantly during school hours and at home. When the time came... [Read more]
Can Social Media Facilitate Meaningful Dialogue?
Towards the end of 1996 I started working as a ‘Guide’ for the Mining Company (later About.com) with the exciting prospect of nurturing an online community around my chosen topic of Buddhism. However, I needed a landline connection and my landlady refused to offer any access, remarking, “The Internet has a softening effect.” She explained that the e-mails... [Read more]
Travelling through London and the Seven Valleys
Most Londoners will agree that a large portion of each day is spent travelling: by bus, bicycle, boat, car, overground, underground, and now more recently, even by cable-car or river boat. On the London underground alone, there are an estimated 3 million journeys taken each day. [1]
Our daily physical journey brings to mind another journey we... [Read more]
Why we remain silent on overseas issues such as the Gezi protests
Recent events in Turkey have given me the opportunity to address a question that is raised with the Dialogue Society every time a significant incident occurs overseas: ‘why does the Dialogue Society remain silent on such incidents?’ I will try to explain the Dialogue Society’s position on commenting on overseas incidents and issues and then relate it to the recent... [Read more]
Connecting Communities: The British Pakistani Community
The Connecting Communities Circles project of the Dialogue Society aims to build understanding of different ethnic communities on the local level, while establishing and strengthening connections between various ethnic groups in London (particularly in Islington and surrounding boroughs). The informal meetings consist of a series of discussions called ‘circles’. A panel of five guests belonging to a particular community... [Read more]
Discovering three places of worship and study in London
When I arrived in London from Switzerland at the beginning of January to start my six-month internship at the Dialogue Society, I did not expect I would be offered a place at the Dialogue School as part of my training. I did not even know that such programme existed.
Actually, I was lucky enough that my placement coincided with that of... [Read more]
Debating Multiculturalism 1: Konya Academic Workshop with the Dialogue Society
It was when they married me off to a woman younger than my daughter that I began to wonder if this wasn’t taking multiculturalism too far. Very few Muslims have more than one wife, and it had taken my own wife more than thirty years to agree to marry me, so she wasn’t going to be too pleased, and... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Riots – or violent urban protest?
Much has changed since I was arrested during the first systematic attack on the police launched by black British youth in Chapeltown, Leeds, in 1975. One is that it attracted no national publicity, whereas if it happened again today, it would provoke a (brief) media storm. Another is that there was no inquiry, just a trial lasting six weeks,... [Read more]
The Olympics: Opening Ceremony to Multiculturalism Backlash?
The Olympics. It would be wrong not to write about it for a multitude of reasons: a) It’s taking place in my home town b) Too much has been said about its linkage to ‘multiculturalism’ in the opening ceremony and I owe it to the organisation I work for and c) I too have to jump on the bandwagon sometimes.
Planted... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Media Representations of the Riots in Bradford 2001 and Manchester 2011
The events of Summer 2011 in areas of England have provoked much debate within sociology. Numerous explanations have been mooted for the urban unrest, riots or ‘disorder events’ (Home Office 2011) such as the rise of the consumer society (Bauman 2011, Moxom 2011), economic inequalities (Grover 2011), timid policing (Gorringe and Rosie 2011) and discourses of race (Murji and Neal... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Fiddling After Burning - Assessing the Riot Commissions Final Report
So, what caused the riots? According to the Riot Commission’s final report, there are many causes. Read the report however and it becomes evident that some are considered more significant than others. Unsurprisingly perhaps, those that receive most attention are those that resonate most clearly with governmental thinking - which means that whatever was to blame it... [Read more]
Youth Riots: England, August 2011 – A Reaction
Shops are bursting with retail goods which lie outside the range of many people’s purses. Advertising dominates our urban landscapes selling a lifestyle which the majority cannot afford. The culture of consumerism infiltrates all aspects of our life and we are even portrayed as “consumers” of welfare, educational and other public services. Value is measured not in terms of utility,... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Policing Disorder in the Regenerating City - Understanding the Pendleton Riot (Part 2)
It is arguably possible to understand the dynamics between class communities in central Salford through urban sociologist Tim Butler’s notion of ‘tectonic social interactions’, which he argues acts as a tension-management device whereby starkly different class communities move past each other as if inhabiting parallel worlds and oblivious to each other's presence. However, we would argue that in Salford members... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Policing Disorder in the Regenerating City - Understanding the Pendleton Riot (Part 1)
On Tuesday 9th August 2011, following three days of public disorder across numerous London boroughs and then Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham and elsewhere, two large-scale riot events took place in Greater Manchester. In this article we focus on the events that took place at Salford Precinct, Pendleton, Salford; events quite distinct from the more widespread disorder that later took place in... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Urban Rioting and Racial Aspects
Often ‘riots’ are misidentified as uncontrollable outbursts of mindless violence, driven by ‘human wickedness’ or a ‘greed for looting’ (Benyon and Solomos, 1987). In some instances, they are viewed as expressions of a deficient black and ethnic minority culture (Gilroy, 2002). This presentation of ‘black criminality’ shapes public fear and anxiety by creating a ‘riot’ narrative that presents images of... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Policing Urban Riots
This past summer saw urban disorder on a dramatic scale. Many were shocked and appalled by what happened, with blame and cries for ‘something to be done’ sounding very quickly afterwards. The Prime Minister claimed this was ‘criminality, pure and simple’ and proposals for making water cannon available in strategic locations around the country are currently being considered.... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Violent Shopping
What is the difference between the violent shopping described as riots and the traditional New Year shopping in English cities? Both can be chaotic, threatening and dangerous, but only the former are deemed manifestations of ‘social disorder’. The vast literature devoted to this concept compels us to re-examine categories such as fear, menace, isolation and crime, categories that pervade our... [Read more]
Youth Riots: Below the Surface and Beyond the Rhetoric - Youth, Consumerism and the London Riots
In this short essay, I would like to suggest that, more than anything else, the London riots exposed a feature of contemporary British youth culture which, despite governmental and independent scrutiny, was laid completely naked during the unrest and downplayed in subsequent reporting – a strong social and individual commitment toward consumerism.
The ‘trigger’
Who could have predicted that Mark Duggan’s killing... [Read more]
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