How do we listen in the digital sphere? What does it mean to respond? What assumptions do we have when we enter different spaces? This activity invites participants to reflect on how they engage with others in different spaces, digital and otherwise.
Step One: Read one of these articles:
- “Fuck your prayers for Orlando,” John P. Sundholm
- “Neoliberal Tools (and Archives): A Political History of Digital Humanities,” Daniel Allington, Sarah Brouillette, David Golumbia
Step Two: Please respond using the following two formats:
- Within 5 minutes of reading the article, respond here (anonymously or not)
- Take some time to think about the article and respond in the comments section following the article (include #listenped)
Step Three: After you have completed the exercise, consider one or more of these questions — feel free to respond in the comments section below:
- What motivates you to respond (private processing, public statement, empathizing with the author/group)?
- Which spaces feel safe?
- How do these different spaces shape how you respond?
- How does timing–responding immediately v. after more reflection–affect your response?
- When online, how do you know someone is empathizing with you? What is a tweet or comment that made you feel “oh yeah, that person really gets what I am feeling”?
Further resources:
- Strategies for listening and empathizing
- When Fellow Academics Make Fun – Marney A. White
Not Anti-Technology, Pro Conversation – Sherry Turkle - Don’t Co-op this Tragedy – Marielle Mosthof
- Mindful Social Networking – Mindful Staff
- Empathy – Brené Brown
- What is empathy? – CogSai and Henry Reich
- What are we willing to feel? – Courtney E. Martin
- Radical Presence: Teaching as Contemplative Practice – Mary Rose O’Reilley
- The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy – Maggie Berg and Barbara K. Seeber