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Document Type

Dissertation - University Access Only

Award Date

1994

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department / School

Rural Sociology

First Advisor

Donna J. Hess

Abstract

The objective of this project was to assess the "Year of Reconciliation" in terms of Nicholas Tavuchis's theory of apology and reconciliation. The methodology employed interview techniques and content analysis of newspaper letters to the editor and editorials addressing the "Year of Reconciliation." The data obtained support Tavuchis's theory at the initial step of acknowledgement of a transgression; however, the data on the necessity of apology are less supportive. The process of reconciliation was observed to break down at the point of apology. Subjects were not in agreement that an apology was warranted, and the offer of a collective apology (as conceived by Tavuchis) was not accepted as an apology. The data reveal that the "Year of Reconciliation" was not a total failure nor a total success. However, respondents offered a qualified appraisal that there was some progress, but that actual meaningful change has not occurred.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Indians of North America -- South Dakota
Reconciliation
South Dakota -- Race relations -- Evaluation

Format

application/pdf

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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