Re-narrating solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Presentation of the formulation and practice of the systemic narrative inquiry method.

摘要

This dissertation presents a method toward the cultivation of peace called systemic narrative inquiry (SNI), which invites its practitioners to create shared meaning and connection with people who hold opposing or conflicting viewpoints. The author's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict provides the context for the method's formalization. SNI emphasizes a systemic view of the complexities of conflict and has as its main form the cultivation of disciplined and creative storytelling. Based on the conceptual thinking of soft systems methodologies (Ackoff, 1988; Banathy, 1989; Checkland, 1981; Churchman, 1979) and critical systems thinking (Flood & Jackson, 1991; Jackson, 1992), this method assumes that perspectives in a violent conflict are subjectively constructed and are representations of various levels of oppression. The dissertation presents an example of the application of SNI through a narrative description of the author's ongoing re-storying of her own understanding of the conflict between Palestinians and Jews, culminating with a panel presentation, "Visions for Just Solutions," that was structured using SNI. The method is assessed for its strengths and limitations, and implications for the use of SNI beyond the arena of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are suggested.