Blog 1: Empathy Lecture
What made me choose to attend Lorraine Gamman’s lecture on Empathy is that it’s an emotion that we feel and deal with everyday. I was very curious how she would connect it with fashion and the better lives unit, so that is what immediately drew me in to that subject.
Just a few minutes in, she immediately connected empathy and the arts, saying that most artworks, like theatre, film, paintings, and other forms of art often make you change your perspective and put you in the other’s shoe, showing you their side of the story and point of view, where you can then relate and feel empathy towards them or their situation.
She then explains the different ways to work with, “research” people in four ways: discovery, immersion, connection and detachment,. I thought this was quite interesting because I feel like people already do this instinctively out of curiosity when meeting someone new or trying to create a connection with someone- we ultimately want to put ourselves in their shoes to get to know them better.
The lecturer actually has PHD in Shoplifting, and has worked with prisoners in the prison system before. She also set up her own Design Against Crime research centre, which I actually found fascinating because I’ve always been very curious about the psychology behind crime. They use special techniques to help create the habit of empathy there. One of those techniques was active listening, by repeating what you hear to the person so they feel heard and understood. It makes them feel like they are leading the discussion.
In the arts, there are multiple projects and exhibitions that were designed so that other people could find and feel empathy for other people’s stories and situations, the lecturer also did a prison exhibitions at central saint martins where students could listen to the prisoners stories and have a better understanding for their situations. I actually attended a blind exhibition a few years ago, where they make you go through a pitch black room, with everyday items and situations, so that you could get a better understanding how blind people navigate through life, and understand the challenges they face on the daily. This lecture reminded me of this experience and I was able to relate to these people’s situations a lot more, and feel empathy because I know knew what their daily life was like. Exhibitions like these, whether it’s in fashion or in another field are so important for people to change their perspectives and look at other people in a different lens.
I think that instinctively, when we hear or find out about a certain person’s situation, we sometimes don’t always react with empathy immediately, because we don’t always understand certain things and then to judge before we take the time to put ourselves in different people’s shoes. After this lecture, I do have more of an urge to try and understand somebody’s struggle, story or situation with more of an open mind and a different perspective.