Learning to be a compassionate academic

Abstract

Do you, my dear reader, feel emotionally exhausted when you skim through the headlines of your morning newspaper? If you are more of a social media person, do you have an overwhelming urge to overlook the depressing stories? Are you suffering from compassion fatigue?

Due to the nature of my research I deal with material that includes accounts of often-extreme violence. Our social world is also replete with awful, awful stories. I am, and to some extent, you and I both are, bearing witness to the vicious tornadoes of violence/insecurity that encircle this world, and the menacing teeth of state/non-state actions that now terrorise even those who live a sheltered life. Only empathy and kindness could save us from this collective trauma. What kind of methodology do we need to employ that allows us to practice empathy and kindness in our research? Remembering the importance of not conflating compassion with ethics, how does one become a compassionate academic? Show more