Mediatorship: Exploring transformational conflict narratives that elicit generative processes through interconnected continuums that cultivate conflict wisdom

Abstract

Narrative inquiry, narrative conflict resolution, and auto/duoethnography can be seen as sources of agency, fostering emancipatory processes. Autoethnography is a method that can elicit constructive social change by cultivating narrative coherency. These generative methods and practices have the ability to enkindle a cultural shift. We need new stories to initiate transformational processes, resetting individual life trajectories and humanities' course. Writing Homing In: An Adopted Child's Story Mandala of Connecting, Reunion, and Belonging, provided an autoethnographic exploration that encompassed notions of the good life in an autoethnographic process akin to spiritual journey. This adoption and reunion story gave rise to concepts and transformational learning pedagogies that can be used to engender resolution processes that can be understood as “lines of flight” or flyways. The homing in mechanism that was found in cases of adopted children that were able to find their birth parents, is shown to work as a compass, guiding individual life trajectories. Auto/duoethnography are methods that elicit relational transformation while contributing to the development of conflict wisdom. Transformagram Portfolios incorporating these approaches were designed to teach courses within the Cultural and Social Department at Creighton University. Writing conflict and illness narratives elevated personal questing to art form by using future forming research methods to beautify story mandalas. Auto/duoethnography can be developed as an effective conflict resolution tool in response to current “glocal” challenges. Transformational pedagogies have facetted a holistic lens by creating reflexive space. In this context, mediatorship is a vessel of exploration that transports conflict resolution practices, while orienting experiential learning that interconnects the inner and outer journey. Transformagram Portfolios use auto/duoethnography to nurture narrative coherency, living wisdom, and generativity by scaffolding learning processes that provide an innovative pedagogical instrument for conflict resolution.