Women’s dialogic encounters: agonistic listening and emotions in multiple-identity conflicts

Using data collected from a dialogue meeting in Turkey of 19 women participants with different ideological orientations, ethnicities and sects, as well as 10 in-depth follow-up interviews, this article explores the dynamics of listening and emotions in dialogue in multiple-identity conflicts. Considering listening as an important component of agonistic peace, the article aims to understand the conditions that help or hinder listening and one’s perception of being listened to in the face of weighty emotions in the context of women’s dialogic encounters. The article shows that agonistic listening facilitates the expression of emotions and views, and an interest in Other’s story, while an attitude of care stemming from previous experience of working together on women’s issues may help transform the antagonistic Other into an agonistic one. However, agonistic listening does not lead to significant perspective change and entails only a temporary suspension of one’s categories to lend the Other an attentive ear; it is a conception of listening that recognises the temporary and limited character of listening and the place of emotions in dialogue with the Other.