Mindfulness and Diversity Some Thoughts on Teaching, Research and Applications for a More Inclusive and Just World
Date: 07/12/2017
Location: St Hugh's College
Time - 9:00 - 16:30
In a time of rising racism, xenophobia, religion-based and other forms of Othering, evidence supports the application of Mindfulness and Compassion practices for enhancing individual awareness and focus, reducing stress, improving the regulation of emotion and increasing wellbeing. What are the benefits for addressing social-identity-based and collective distress and suffering, as seen in communities, workplaces and beyond? How might we redirect the practice, teaching, scientific research and application of mindfulness and compassion practices to the work of improving a world in distress?
Professor Rhonda Magee (J.D., M.A.), a law professor and a teacher of mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions, is at the forefront of exploring mindfulness as a means of deepening our capacity to understand and to dissolve conflict through awareness and compassion practices. In this interactive Masterclass, she will draw on thousands of hours of work with diverse groups seeking to deepen their understanding of context-specific identity-based conflict, and the suffering and injustice that results. She will discuss some of the research indicating how specific practices of mindfulness and compassion assist us in more effectively engaging the intercultural, interpersonal and intercollective difficulties we face together. She will demonstrate some ways of contextualizing mindfulness and compassion practices for application in culturally-specific settings, and broadening the scope of our practices to include similar practices from diverse cultural locations.
Rhonda V. Magee (M.A., J.D.) is the author of numerous articles on mindfulness in legal education and as a means of supporting diverse teaching and learning environments, also a facilitator of mindful and compassionate communication. She is a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute and serves as an advisor to institutions ranging from the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness to the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute.