Events

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Teaching Empathy: A tool to reducing polarization and a pathway to inclusiveness and tolerance

Time: 5:00 p.m. EST via ZOOM

Teaching perspective-taking and empathy: Insights from a research project in intercultural training in youth mental health care

Presenter: Janique Johnson-Lafleur

This presentation will present findings from my doctoral research on intercultural training for youth mental health practitioners. It will address the conditions and processes necessary to enhance students' intercultural competencies, including their ability to shift perspectives and empathically understand others' experiences. Lessons learned in this research and their potential application to other contexts, including the field of education, will be explored.

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Adolescence and social polarization: What role for schools

Presenter: Diana Miconi, PhD

Based on recent empirical evidence, this talk will reflect on the increase of social polarization and violence in our societies and schools and the impact of these phenomena on youth’s development and well-being as well as lack of empathy. In a Positive Youth Development perspective, how can schools deal with the present social polarization, develop empathy among their students and promote their students’ individual and collective well-being?

Registration

Presenters

Janique Johnson-Lafleur is a postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University. Grounded in a conversation between anthropology, art, and the psychological disciplines, her work explores the interface between the personal and collective dimensions of identity, violence, suffering, care, and creativity.

Diana Miconi, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and an assistant professor at the Department of Educational Psychology and Andragogy at the University of Montréal. Presently, she investigates vulnerability and resilience factors leading to positive attitudes towards violent radicalization in youth.