EMPATHY (PS-1463)

The third and last in a series, this course is designed to teach the art and skill of empathy, especially in the context of those on the margins. As an intensive, the aim will be to establish quickly a practicing community, attendance, preparation, and generous listening, and reflective sharing are crucial to this process. Empathy for others flows from vulnerability, self-awareness, and intimate familiarity with the entire spectrum of emotion; students will therefore cultivate the important habit of self-writing, or journaling, to develop these capacities. Other assignments include reading presentations, personal and group reflections, and, borrowing a term from Howard Thurman, a "centering down" opening ritual. Finally, students will have the opportunity to practice compassion for those who bring you discomfort, those "others" who inhabit our lives, via a case study. [Auditors with Faculty Permission]