 |
Strong Language: Negotiating Deep Differences While Promoting Peace
A Public Lecture by Dr. Susan F. Hirsch
at San Anton Palace on the 15th Jan at 17:30
Sponsored by the President's Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society
Whether our differences concern gender, race, class, political party, or views on a contested issue, many people usually avoid talking about deep differences in the hope that they won’t matter. But differences do matter, and suddenly we find ourselves in conversations that escalate to the point of shattering individual relationships and societal peace. The speaker, a cultural anthropologist, argues that exploring our differences is essential to crafting more peaceful societies. Current challenges to doing so openly include the lack of safe space and civility, the shifting norms of political correctness, and the violence of language itself. The speaker’s own experiences in contentious conversations about gender, Islamic law, hate speech, and the American death penalty illustrate the pitfalls and possibilities of talking about our differences.
Susan F. Hirsch is a Professor in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in the United States, where she specialises in legal anthropology. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Kenya, Tanzania, and the United States, her publications focus on the law as a response to conflicts that range from terrorism and atrocity to social issues (e.g., environment or domestic violence to interpersonal relationships). Among her several books is In the Moment of Greatest Calamity: Terrorism, Grief, and a Victim's Quest for Justice, which is based on her experiences surviving a terror attack. Hirsch's latest research examines family law, religious diversity, and rule of law in Malta and several other nations. She is currently a Fulbright Lecturer in the Law Faculty of the University of Malta, where she is also affiliated with the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies.