PWR 194DH: Empathy: A Rhetorical Tool In The Fight For Social Change?
INSTRUCTOR: Donna Hunter, Lecturer
DOES NOT FULFILL NSC REQUIREMENTS
In this course, we will interrogate empathy as an ethical model and a rhetorical strategy for effecting social change. Partisanship is at an all time high in the US, being as ingrained and divisive now as race. And a 2015 poll showed that almost six in ten Americans—heavy majorities of both blacks and whites—believe that “race relations are generally bad, and nearly four in 10 think the situation is getting worse.” Stanford’s campus has been no stranger to these controversies—divestment from Palestine and fossil fuels, Slow Down for Michael Brown, sexual assault punishments, and accusations of anti-Jewish bias in election endorsements. So, do we need an “empathy revolution,” or should we be “against empathy” or is it more complicated? To get at these questions, we will read about empathy from the perspective of morality, neuroscience, social movements and rhetoric; and practice compassion meditation. Finally, with the course readings and discussions in mind, you will write about a social change issue you believe might, or might not, benefit from an empathetic framework. Completion of PWR 1 and PWR 2 or permission of instructor required.
