"The twin presence of South African archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta prompted the university to sponsor a year-long symposium on the theme of reconciliation.

Members of the community from many fields joined together with colleagues from Harvard and the University of Chicago to explore the roots of conflict and the meaning of reconciliation.

Inspired by Tutu's teaching on reconciliation in South Africa and the Carter Center's efforts fostering conflict resolution, they began to ask questions about barriers to many kinds of reconciliation."

"The came September 11, 2001. After the attacks, the participants' explorations of the possibilities and limits of reconciliation were briefly put aside.

But within a short while it became clear that the time was ripe for serious conversation about the roots of conflict and the long and complicated process of reconciliation."

"This collection seeks to chronicle the dynamics of the process of reconciliation as conceived in different fields, from religion to biology and psychology.

It speaks to the issues in light of September 11, and with full awareness that all too many more acts of violence have taken place since that day."--Jacket.