STLinATL

Empathy is the ability to understand and respect difference (another person’s or group’s experience) on the basis of common humanity.  As such, it is an essential capacity for our times that deserves our study and cultivation. But empathy is not just about knowing, it is about feeling too—and that feeling involves the body. Embodied and engaged pedagogy, including use of the arts, games, and play, is especially suited to exploring and cultivating empathy because it takes place in the liminal space between reality and imagination, facilitating the safe exploration of new ideas, perspectives, and experiences. In this workshop, Jen Knox and Brendan Ozawa-de Silva, will share activities for engaging students in their exploration of empathy, including both its potential and its potential pitfalls, rooted in the SEE Learning framework, a K-12 and higher education framework for social, emotional and ethical learning developed at Emory University.  Participants will experience easy-to-implement techniques from performing and visual arts.  No background in the arts is required for participation!