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Part I: Commending, framing, and explaining the work of reconciliation -- Part II: Pursuing reconciliation through apology, forgiveness, and reparation -- Conclusion: the ongoing work of reconciliation. "In North America, Africa, and across the globe, many societies are deeply divided along racial, ethnic, political, or religious lines by histories of violence and oppression. Bridging such divides requires symbolic action that transcends, reframes, redeems, and repairs-working to restore both fractured relationships and a fragmented moral order. Because such efforts implicate cultures' deepest, most sacred beliefs and values, cultural leaders speaking to reconciliation often draw upon the resources and energy of religious discourse. Speaking to Reconciliation introduces this burgeoning body of faith-informed rhetoric through a selection of important and illustrative speeches. From Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr. to Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel to Jordan's King Abdullah II, and Thich Nhat Hanh to Ireland's President Mary McAleese (and others), readers will encounter diverse yet overlapping ways in which public figures have rhetorically appropriated their religious traditions to warrant a vision of reconciliation in society. These speech texts set forth principles of reconciliation, herald examples of its practice, address legacies of injustice, make apologies for historical wrongs, call for reparations, commend the power of forgiveness, and recommend spiritual practices conducive to reconciliation. Rhetoric scholar John B. Hatch presents a conceptual framework for doing analysis and critique of reconciliation discourse and applies this framework in introductions to the speeches, while also providing relevant historical context as well as insights from other scholars. This book offers readers a springboard for further study and, potentially, inspiration to promote justice and reconciliation in one's own sphere"--
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