The Conflict and Culture Reader - by Pat K Chew (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Culture is the lens through which we make sense of the world. In any conflict, from petty disputes to wars between nation-states, the players invariably view that conflict through the filter of their own cultural experiences. This innovative volume prompts us to pause and think through our most fundamental assumptions about how conflict arises and how it is resolved.
Even as certain culturally based disputes, such as the high-profile cases in which an immigrant engages in conduct considered normal in the homeland but which is explicitly illegal in his/her new country, enter public consciousness, many of the most basic intersections of culture and conflict remain unexamined. How are some processes cultured, gendered, or racialized? In what ways do certain groups and cultures define such concepts as "justice" and "fairness" differently? Do women and men perceive events in similar fashion, use different reasoning, or emphasize disparate values and goals?
Spanning a wide array of disciplines, from anthropology and psychology to law and business, and culling dozens of intriguing essays, The Culture and Conflict Reader is edited for maximum pedagogical usefulness and represents a bedrock text for anyone interested in conflict and dispute resolution.
Contributors include: Kevin Avruch, Peter W. Black, Jeffrey Z. Rubin, Frank E. A. Sander, John Paul Lederach, Heather Forest, Sara Cobb, Janet Rifkin, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Laura Nader, Pat Chew, Stella Ting-Toomey, Harry C. Triandis, Christopher McCusker, C. Harry Hui, Anita Taylor, Judi Beinstein Miller, Carol Gilligan, Trina Grillo, James W. Grosch, Karen G. Duffy, Paul V. Olczak, Michele Hermann, Martha Chamallas, Loraleigh Keashly, Phil Zuckerman, Tracy E. Higgins, Howard Gadlin, Janie Victoria Ward, Kyeyoung Park, Taunya Lovell Banks, Margaret Read MacDonald, Mary Patrice Erdmans, Manu Aluli Meyer, Doriane Lambelet Coleman, Bruce D. Bonta, Paul E. Salem, Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Marc H. Ross, Z.D. Gurevitch, Mari J. Matsuda, Charles R. Lawrence III, Hsien Chin Hu, Glenn R. Butterton, Walter Otto Weyrauch, Maureen Anne Bell, Martti Gronfors, Thomas Donaldson, Marjorie Shostak, and Heather Forest.

Review Quotes

"At a time when ethnic conflicts seem unending and the rule of law is increasingly threatened, it is the responsibility of every thinking person to learn as much as possible about the ways in which law, conflict and culture affect one another and, in turn, the ways in which they affect us all. This new book offers a thought-provokingand sometimes disturbingmedium for exploring the host of issues raised by the interrelationships between these concepts."--John M. Burkoff, Associate Dean and Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh

"Covering groups as diverse as Finnish gypsies, Chicago Polish, Native Hawaiians, Israeli Druze, and African Americans, Pat Chew presents us with a global feast on conflict and culture. This multidisciplinary collection enables us to appreciate the complex interplay when race, ethnicity, gender, and culture confront both unwritten customs and formal legal systems."--Adrien Katherine Wing, author of Global Critical Race Feminism

"Pat Chew makes an important contribution by bringing together voices that speak to this complex topic that is at the heart of the rapidly shrinking world we all are beginning to share and navigate together."--Syed Shariq, RGK Foundation Scholar, Stanford University

"This not only a wonderful book to read but one that will assist all of us as we travel across borders to work, explore and enjoy the wonders of other places."--John P. Tymitz, Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Shipboard Education

"This single volume covers the universe of cultural issues and ethnic conflict. Professor Pat Chew has revealed she has the secret heart of an anthropologist. This collection of materials from far-flung places is fascinating, made more so by the helpful notes and materials she employs to stitch them together."--Michael A. Olivas, Director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance, University of Houston