How are refugees adjusting to life in the US - given the current political climate? Join Kim Nguyen as we discuss the opportunity we have to learn from the people coming into this country as opposed to showing them how to "fit in".

A New Approach to Meeting Refugees

Kim Nguyen at Living Room

Fri, Mar 15 at 7:30 p.m.   |   90 minutes

How are refugees adjusting to life in the US - given the current political climate? Research from multiple disciplines reveals that humans not only need each other to survive but also to thrive. However, we live in a world that divides us along lines such as gender, race, class, religion, and ableism making it harder to connect.

Many of us assume that our current world is a natural progression of human nature, and therefore the only possibility. We privilege western models of mental health that focus its lens on individual capacities. This approach often ignores macro-level influences that shape such capacities.

This Olio addresses some of the assumptions made in the field of psychology on trauma and healing and argues for a multidisciplinary approach to have a more comprehensive understanding of macro-level forces and how they impact individual capacities. How we conceptualize trauma and healing is embedded within particular historical, political, social, and economic contexts. Using dynamic systems thinking allows us to situate this knowledge in its particular context, trace how these constructs have changed over time and reveal different possibilities of how we might effectively make lasting changes to our approach toward mental health.

*This Living Room Salon will take place in an apartment in Prospect Lefferts Garden*

Teacher: Kim Nguyen

Kim Nguyen is a doctoral student at City University of New York in the Critical Social and Personality Psychology program and a research associate at sexgenlab.org. She teaches at Pratt Institute and Hunter College. Kim is interested in the different ways in which social injustice and power dynamics dehumanize and disrupt our ability to connect with one another (and ourselves).

Venue: Living Room
Add to Calendar March 15, 20197:30 p.m. March 15, 2019 America/New_York Think Olio | A New Approach to Meeting Refugees How are refugees adjusting to life in the US - given the current political climate? Join Kim Nguyen as we discuss the opportunity we have to learn from the people coming into this country as opposed to showing them how to "fit in". None

What is Think Olio?

Think Olio is here to put the liberation back into the liberal arts.

Classically, the liberal arts, were the education considered essential for a free person to take an active part in civic life. To counter a humanities that has been institutionalized and dehumanized we infuse critical thinking, openness, playfulness, and compassion into our learning experience.

Read more about our mission, our story, and how we are doing this.

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Olio: A miscellaneous collection of art and literature.