Can the “peace speech” save the planet?
Poet Padraig Ó Tuama (left; photo by Trevor Brady) and Colombian social psychologist Peter Coleman are collaborating to explore the power of language in promoting global peace, security, and sustainable development.
“Peace on Earth” is a popular mood at this time of the year, hung under the wreaths of the storefront and scribbled on holiday cards. But when the earth is experiencing rising temperatures, declining biodiversity, water and air pollution, and fierce land disputes, what does peace on earth look like?Peter Coleman, a social psychologist at the Columbia Climate School and the award-winning poet, believe that achieving peace-especially when it comes to planetary issues-has a lot to do with the language we use Pádraig Ó Tuama.
With the support of Morton Deutsch Center for International Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR), Teachers College and Columbia University Climate Institute, Coleman and Ó Tuama are working together to explore the power of language in promoting peace, security and sustainability on a global scale sex. Coleman, Professor of Psychology and Education, Director of MD-ICCCR, is an expert in conflict resolution and an editor of groundbreaking textbooks. Conflict Resolution Handbook: Theory and Practice (2014). Ó Tuama is a poetry and prose writer, theologian, orator and community peace builder.Originally from Ireland, from 2014 to 2019, he was Corimilla Community, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation community.
From October 2021 to May 2022, Ó Tuama will live in New York City and work with Coleman, MD-ICCCR and other collaborators from The Climate School. The result will be the publication of 35 anthologies of poems that explore the main themes expressed in Coleman’s award-winning handbook, which cover conflicts between individuals; group conflicts; contradictory responses to conflicts; return, aggression, and resistance; cooperative negotiations; and Conflict is a state of existence in the current climate crisis.
“For me, theology, conflict, and poetry are all centered on the use and power of words,” Ó Tuama said. For many years, while advising writers and community builders, he has always emphasized that language—especially in terms of syntax, tense, and stories—is a powerful container for expressing meaning. The artistic method of choosing words can be used to deepen peace building.
“Some people find themselves speechless in the face of conflict, while others find themselves very easy to use the most destructive language in the conflict space and can say things that are ultimately memorable,” he said. “This can happen between people who love each other, or between people who hate each other, or both. To me, conflict resolution has always been a poetic act, thinking about what happens in dialogue Possibility in the poems created in the room.”
Although he is already familiar with conflict resolution theory due to his work in Ireland for peacebuilding, Ó Tuama said that he found Coleman’s manual to be an excellent resource during his stay. He first met Coleman five years ago, when a professor at Columbia University suddenly emailed him.Coleman grieves the loss of a friend and hears interview Ó Tuama in Aired on NPR with Krista Tippett.
Listen to Pádraig Ó Tuama read Linda Hogan’s “Song of the Gulf Turtles” Onbeing: Poetry Without Boundaries. Image: Myrna Keliher’s letterpress printing | Lucero Torres Photography
“I’m really fascinated by it,” Coleman said. He contacted Ó Tuama and, ironically, he happened to be on the street when he visited New York City, and they formed a friendship and a creative partnership. Coleman immediately tried to find ways to bring Ó Tuama to New York as a collaborator. With the support of the Climate Institute, Columbia University Teachers College and two anonymous donors, this year’s residency became possible.
Coleman said: “In the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to be able to work in these multidisciplinary teams, these teams bring together very different types of people,” study the many aspects of the complex problems of the earth. “I have always been Colleagues who solve problems from fundamentally different perspectives learn while working together. This is refreshing for me. This is essential for understanding the different nature of phenomena and promoting our understanding of complex topics.”
Recently, in Colombia’s Advanced Coalition of Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity, Coleman is leading Peacekeeping project-A team of multidisciplinary researchers dedicated to bridging the gap between academic understanding and practical applications for lasting peace.The group is Serving Reach a consensus on what type of language represents “peace speech”-the opposite of “hate speech”-to study how language can be used to repair and heal violent or broken communities. For one project, the team is using machine learning to scan 900 million news articles published in highly violent and peaceful countries over the past 10 years. They are analyzing and comparing language differences between countries.
Coleman said: “Data science can sometimes reveal a certain fundamental cultural difference in the way people communicate, and it may be more difficult to find this difference when studying language at the micro level.” “The process by which we explore this language between these societies It is found that in a highly peaceful society and a less peaceful society, there are different vocabulary at work. The structure of language is different.”
Coleman and Ó Tuama said that when discussing controversial issues related to the environment (such as climate change), it is very important to use “peace talks”. Ó Tuama will further explore this concept in his work released after the end of his residency in May.
“The question of which language is effective and which language to avoid is an uncertain question, depending on the room. For example, in some groups, you know that “climate denier” may be a phrase, even if you Believed to be accurate, but in fact it only hinders the possibility of communication and makes someone feel insulted,” Ó Tuama said. “Here, the bigger question facing the communicator is,’What do you want?’ What did you hear in this negotiation? What hope do you have for any kind of resolution? How can your language be focused, achievable, feasible, and important for resolution, instead of trying to win every small battle?”
During his residency in Ó Tuama, he will also hold several public readings and seminars, open to Columbia University students and the public. He said that he hopes these activities will be useful for writers and communicators, as well as students of narrative medicine, climate change, theology, and conflict resolution.
Next activity
Poetry Lab: Exploring the wisdom of conflict through the lens of a poem
Friday, 2.30pm. (February 4, 11, 18, 25; March 4, 11)
Open to everyone. Register here.
Poetry and Climate: These three online conferences bring poets and climate experts together to discuss climate change, location, lament, protest and art. It will be available on Youtube after the course is over. The date and time are to be determined. Check our event page for updates.
Poetry and conflict: Bringing poets and conflict experts together, these three online conferences will discuss conflict, language, lament, change, and intervention. It will be available on Youtube after the course is over. The date and time are to be determined. Check our event page for updates.
