Start With Empathy: A Guide to Writing and Research in Divisive Times

Start with Empathy: A Guide to Writing and Research in Divisive Times reminds readers that writing is not the first step in solving the problems of our world.  By exploring why we think the way we do (metacognition), our frames of reference, and experiences, students can first work to understand themselves.  In turn, they can then investigate why other people don’t think in the same ways, and this gives them the opportunity to understand problems based on culture, class, family, community, national, and international perspectives. 

This textbook also allows students to do the work of empathy and compassion.  This can lead students to better understand other people, so they can learn how to read, research, write, and communicate more clearly. 

Finally, Start With Empathy is a book that encourages students to look for ways to help in their communities, as well as in the world.  Through empathetic writing, research, and discussion, as well as interactive links to resources from numerous platforms (television, TED Talks, blogs, interviews, and even poems), this textbook helps launch a trajectory for students to practice practical writing, research, and problem-solving in our often divisive world today.