Since its birth, sociology has struggled vainly to achieve an encompassing intellectual 'synthesis' as it has fought against the explosion of ideas about the social world. This volume considers an alternative response that has recently developed to conditions of intellectual fragmentation: 'the dialogical turn,' a sociological approach that welcomes a plurality of orientations and perspectives as the essential basis for establishing productive dialogue. This volume explores this exciting approach, building on the ideas of Donald N. Levine, whose extensive writings on the forms and functions of intellectual dialogue provide the point of departure for an internationally renowned group of scholars. Their innovative chapters assess the role of sociology in the conversation across contemporary academic disciplines, exploring the fundamental structural and conceptual reconstructions now taking place in the social sciences.

Per Linell took his degree in linguistics and is currently professor of language and culture, with a specialisation on communication and spoken interaction, at the University of Linköping, Sweden. He has been instrumental in building up an internationally renowned interdisciplinary graduate school in communication studies in Linköping. He has worked for many years on developing a dialogical alternative to mainstream theories in linguistics, psychology and social sciences. His production comprises more than 100 articles on dialogue, talk-in-interaction and institutional discourse. His more recent books include Approaching Dialogue (1998), The Written Language Bias in Linguistics (2005) and Dialogue in Focus Groups (2007, with I. Marková, M. Grossen and A. Salazar Orvig).

Marková offers a dialogical perspective to problems in daily life and professional practices involving communication, care, and therapy.

Presents a theoretical framework for analysing the dialogic turn in the production and communication of knowledge that builds bridges across three research traditions - dialogic communication theory, action research, and science and technology studies. This title provides an account of the dialogic turn through case studies.

College-level ethnography focusing on Morocco. Dialogues provide interesting approach to the study of fieldwork.

This volume examines the many dimensions of dialogue as a key driver of peaceful personal and social change. While most people agree on the value of dialogue, few delve into its meaning or consider its full range. The essays collected here consider dialogue in the context of teaching and learning, personal and interpersonal growth, and in conflict resolution and other situations of great change. Through these three themes, contributors from a wide variety of perspectives consider the different forms dialogue takes, the goals of the various forms, and which forms have been most successful or most challenging. With its expansive approach, the book makes an original contribution to peace studies, civic studies, education studies, organizational studies, conflict resolution studies, and dignity studies. Contributors: Susan H. Allen, George Mason University * Monisha Bajaj, University of San Francisco * Andrea Bartoli, Seton Hall University * Meenakshi Chhabra, Lesley University * Steven D. Cohen, Tufts University * Charles Gardner, Community of Sant'Egidio * Mark Farr, The Sustained Dialogue Institute * William Gaudelli, Teachers College, Columbia University * Jason Goulah, DePaul University * Donna Hicks, Harvard University * Bernice Lerner, Hebrew College * Ceasar L. McDowell, MIT * Gonzalo Obelleiro, DePaul University * Bradley Siegel, Teachers College, Columbia University * Olivier Urbain, Min-On Music Research Institute * Ion Vlad, University of San Francisco Distributed for George Mason University Press and published in collaboration with the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue