Safer Learning Community
Safer is committed to engaging every discipline on campus in the work of violence prevention and trauma-informed response. To do this, we have developed the Safer Learning Community, with quarterly book circles specifically geared towards faculty and staff on campus, to empower you to join this work alongside us.
Read through our offerings below and register at the bottom of this site!
Fall Quarter 2022: The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.
Fall Quarter 2022 Sessions
|
Session |
Date |
Time |
|
1 |
10/19/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
2 |
10/26/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
3 |
11/2/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
4 |
11/9/2022 |
12-1pm |
| 5 | 11/16/2022 | 12-1pm |
Winter Quarter 2023: Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent and Navigating the New Masculinity, by Peggy Orenstein
Drawing on comprehensive interviews with young men, psychologists, academics, and experts in the field, Boys & Sex dissects so-called locker room talk; how the word “hilarious” robs boys of empathy; pornography as the new sex education; boys’ understanding of hookup culture and consent; and their experience as both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence. By surfacing young men’s experience in all its complexity, Orenstein is able to unravel the hidden truths, hard lessons, and important realities of young male sexuality in today’s world. The result is a provocative and paradigm-shifting work that offers a much-needed vision of how boys can truly move forward as better men.
Winter Quarter 2022 Sessions
|
Session |
Date |
Time |
|
1 |
2/1/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
2 |
2/8/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
3 |
2/15/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
4 |
2/22/2022 |
12-1pm |
Spring Quarter 2023: Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement, by Ejeris Dixon & Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Transformative justice seeks to solve the problem of violence at the grassroots level, without relying on punishment, incarceration, or policing. Community-based approaches to preventing crime and repairing its damage have existed for centuries. However, in the punitive atmosphere of contemporary criminal justice systems, they are often marginalized and operate under the radar. Beyond Survival puts these strategies front and center as real alternatives to today’s failed models of confinement and “correction.”
In this collection, a diverse group of authors focuses on concrete and practical forms of redress and accountability, assessing existing practices and marking paths forward. They use a variety of forms—from toolkits to personal essays—to delve deeply into the “how to” of transformative justice, providing alternatives to calling the police, ways to support people having mental health crises, stories of community-based murder investigations, and much more. At the same time, they document the history of this radical movement, creating space for long-time organizers to reflect on victories, struggles, mistakes, and transformations.
Spring Quarter 2023 Sessions
|
Session |
Date |
Time |
|
1 |
5/3/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
2 |
5/10/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
3 |
5/17/2022 |
12-1pm |
|
4 |
5/24/2022 |
12-1pm |
Registration
Please note - there are limited seats (10) for each book circle. Therefore, we will be prioritizing participants who are able to attend all sessions. Please let us know in advance if you are not able to attend every sessions.
