Krijtenburg, Froukje (2007). Cultural ideologies of peace and conflict: A socio-cognitive study of Giryama discourse (Kenya). PhD thesis, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. PDF (open access)
This study is inspired by the idea that ‘ordinary’ people, and especially their understandings and beliefs, are an essential – yet relatively neglected – factor in intercultural conflict resolution. Within the wider context of social studies of conflict and its attempted resolution this is a cognitive study of their understandings (i.e. the ‘cultural understandings’) of ‘peace’ and ‘conflict’. The overall framework is that of anthropological linguistics, with its characteristic view of language as linguistic practice. An analytical model is developed and applied to a case study of the Giriama of Kenya. This model facilitates accounting for an insider view as well as a cross-cultural comparison. It can be used for studying ‘cultural understandings’ of ‘peace’ and ‘conflict’ in other communities,and renders outcomes that can be compared. The research domain is everyday and public discourse.
