Inviting Radical Curiosity

Dr. Jennifer Schulz, Ph.D. is a Senior Instructor in the Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies program at Seattle University, Seattle, WA. She holds a doctorate in American literature and a  masters in clinical psychology . She teaches a wide variety of interdisciplinary courses on literature, trauma, the body, well-being and catastrophe, integrative interdisciplinary research methods, and creative non-fiction writing. She is also the director of the Seattle University-Pacific Northwest Ballet Educational Partnership which provides a college education to professional dancers. In addition to her teaching, as a licensed mental health counselor in private practice, she works with (mostly) women who have experienced complex/developmental trauma. Dr. Schulz has published articles on cultural infrastructure and the Harlem Renaissance, literature and evocation, trauma and witnessing, and on incorporating creative writing practices in qualitative research methodology. She has also conducted and presented phenomenological psychological research on experiences such as despair, intimacy, and “at-homeness.”

These videos were made during the time of covid-19.

CENTERING WISDOM

1. Reflection: Dr. Schulz says that the experience of giving trauma testimony is also the experience of remembering.  Read Adrienne Rich’s poem “For Memory.” Links to an external site. What do you notice about  the way the poem describes memory in terms  of one’s everyday relationship to memory; memory and our relationship with others; and the relationship between memory and freedom ?

2. Reflection : What role does  “diagnosis” play in your life ?   How  has  it  been used as a “description” of you ;  or ,   how have  you have used it to describe /understand  someone else ?  How has diagnosis opened  understanding ? And when has it “prevented” further listening?

3. Activity: I invite you to engage the practice of radical curiosity/radical witnessing as you interact with others in your life today – be it your colleagues, your spouse, your child, your friends. Follow the three rules as you listen:

   1. Don’t  compare their experience with yours.  
   2. Don’t  try to “fix” a problem or offer advice.  
   3. Raise questions, borne out of genuine curiosity, that honor their otherness:  e.g. “ What is that like for you? ” “How does that feel?”  

CHECK OUT THESE LINKS

How to Listen Between the Lines: Anna Deavere Smith on the Art of Listening in a Culture of Speaking Links to an external site.

What It Means To Center Ourselves In Conversation—And How To Practice Decentering Instead Links to an external site.

Being Well Podcast: Complex PTSD and Developmental Trauma Links to an external site.