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BOOKS@WORK

EMPATHY: A LEARNING FRAMEWORK

Empathy: a curriculum for self-reflection What is Books@Work? In her classic novel, , Lee’s unforgettable Books@Work is a highly hero, , cautions his daughter Scout not to rush to judgment of interactive program in others: “you never really understand a person until you consider things which college professors from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” work with frontline While we casually accept that empathy requires putting ourselves in the employees to jointly place of another, what does it really mean to have empathy for others or explore and reflect upon to respect diverse perspectives in a just, meaningful and personally relevant broad themes in an way? enjoyable and engaging Working with narratives and texts from diverse cultures, disciplines and seminar. The sponsor of time periods, readers explore how empathy differs from sympathy. A Books@Work, That Can Be subtle difference, empathy requires an individual to feel what another feels Me, Inc., has developed a (e.g., “I feel your pain”), while sympathy generates an emotional response series of curricular learning to another’s feelings (e.g., “I feel sorry for your pain”) 1. frameworks focused on several popular themes, Authentic empathy requires a deep understanding of the self in relation to with the input and others. But where empathy requires us to go above and beyond, must one guidance of both protect the self from engaging too deeply with others? Where does the employers and professors. line between the self and the other reside in situations that challenge us? These include, among And when must we stand up for the ideals we believe in even when they others, Empathy, Justice, differ from the values of others or of the communities in which we live and Courage, Service, Conflict work? Finally, how can our experiences enable us to bring creativity, and Money/Economics. flexibility and our own unique approach to our own authentic empathic The frameworks are merely engagement with others? guidelines, designed to raise a set of essential An illustrative selection of readings that create diverse opportunities to questions and suggest explore service and its related issues follows on the next page. The selected potential readings, both books are intentionally quite broad and diverse; if Books@Work becomes an fiction and non-fiction. avenue for training or moralizing, it loses its ability to inspire and excite. For Each program will be example, books that offer stories of empathy ignite an open discussion of tailored and unique, issues and conflicts; books that purport to present “how to treat each other reflecting the needs, kindly” become instructive and potentially stifling. perspectives and interests of participants. 1 Keen, Suzanne (2007). Empathy and the Novel. Oxford University Press.

THAT CAN BE ME BOOKS@ WORK: LITERARY SELECTIONS ON EMPATHY

The selections listed below illustrate potential reading choices: the list is not exhaustive. To ensure the most engaging learning experience, final selections will be made by participating faculty with this framework as a guide. Literature, Poetry and Plays , Of Mice and Men (1937) Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958) When the need for understanding and protection brings two A Nigerian community leader must face societal change under friends to the point of tragedy. the influence of British colonization and Christian missionaries.

Lois Lowry, The Giver (1993) , The Jungle (1906) In a dystopian society where emotions have been erased, the A novel portraying the difficult life of immigrants in the meat- child who has deep feelings struggles to find his place. packing industry in the early 1900s. Philosophy, Non-fiction and Essays J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace (1992) After losing everything: his career, his reputation and his Mark Twain, The Lowest Animal (~1896) dreams, a man is forced to confront the meaning of humanity. “Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one who inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.” Bernhard Schlink, The Reader (1995) When life requires one to judge the actions of someone they James McBride, The Color of Water (1995) have deeply loved. Crossing worlds: a tribute to the author’s mother, a white Jewish woman who chose to marry a Black man in 1941. Rudyard Kipling, Gunga Din (1892) In times of stress, we question whether there natural human George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant (1931) hierarchies or whether we are brothers on the same journey. When man behaves as a puppet for an idea in which he does not believe, he must justify or reconcile his behavior. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952) An African-American man makes sense of his individuality as Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) he struggles in a society that makes him the “other.” Getting By in America (2002) Emile Zola, Germinal (1885) An undercover journalist investigates the effects of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act on the working poor. Facing extreme poverty, miners protest worsening working conditions in a French mine and confront societal norms. , Hiroshima (1946) Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn (1884) An account of the experiences of six individuals following the bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945. “...where a sound heart and a deformed come into collision and the conscience suffers defeat.” Science and Nature David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars (1994) Marco Iacoboni, Mirroring People: The Science of Anti-Japanese sentiments prevail over longtime community ties Empathy and How We Connect with Others (2008) when a 1954 Puget Sound murder remains unsolved. Research on “mirror neurons,” the cells in our brains that permit us to physically understand the feelings of others. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) A young girl comes of age in the Deep South as her father E.O. Wilson, On Human Nature (1979) defends a black man accused of attacking a white woman. A biologist explains characteristics of humans and society in light of evolution, including generosity, self-sacrifice and Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children (1980) worship. Children born at the precise moment of India’s independence and partition make sense of a shifting world. James Hansen, Storms of my Grandchildren (2009) May Sarton, As We Are Now (1992) Caring about the legacy of our children by taking better care An elderly woman faces the powerlessness of a nursing home of the world we live in today. but refuses to give up her fight.

THAT CAN BE ME