Empathy: Vanier College Humanities Symposium 2019

February 4, 2019

For the eighth consecutive year, Vanier College will hold its annual Humanities Symposium February 4-8, 2019. The theme this year is “Empathy”.  In a world of social media where human relations and exchanges are no longer direct, the meaning of empathy and indeed its very existence may no longer mean what it once did.

“Empathy generally recognized as the entwined ability to understand and to share the emotions of the other, has elicited wide-ranging interest,” says Humanities teacher Sheila Das, the principal organizer of this year’s event. “But what at first seems like an obvious good, merits probing and, upon reflection, elicits many questions.”

Throughout the symposium, Vanier teachers and guest speakers from leading international institutions will explore a range of positive and negative perspectives in different fields in order to highlight the complex nature of empathy in the modern world. The week will also include a film screening with the director, and a student panel discussion on empathy and social media (Wednesday, February 6, 10:30-12:00).

Opening speaker, Payam Akhavan, a United Nations prosecutor and human rights scholar will launch the symposium on Monday, February 4th at 11:30 AM with his talk entitled “To all Millennials in Search of a Better World.” Payam Akhavan will “reflect on the inspiring resilience of the human spirit, the reality that we need each other, and on how we can act to go about building a better world.”

Later in the week, Keynote Speaker, Paul Bloom, a Vanier alumnus, author and professor of psychology at Yale University, will deliver a talk based on his controversial book, “Against Empathy – The Case for Rational Compassion.” (Thursday, February 7, 8:30-10:00 AM)

On Wednesday, February 6 at 1:30 PM, Kate Polak from Wittenberg University will explore the question of “What is Empathy in the Age Selfie?” Prompted by a photo project that superimposed selfies onto photographs of the Holocaust, Polak’s talk will question how selfies, our narcissistic culture, empathy and ethics come together.

Other speakers include:

  • Shaheen Shariff (Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University) will discuss a 7-year research partnership entitled “IMPACTS” that engages students, academics and community partners in addressing sexual violence policy, cyberbullying and the role of news and social media in mobilizing change in these areas. (Wednesday, February 6, 3:30-5:00 PM)

  • Thupten Jinpa Langri (Religious Studies, McGill University, Compassion Institute, CA) will discuss the difference between empathy and compassion in his talk entitled, “How the Courage to be Compassionate can Change our Lives.” (Thursday, February 7, 12:00-1:30 PM).

All events take place in the Auditorium (A-103) and are open to the public.