Empathy is malleable. It can be created, molded, and broken apart.
Our ability to feel for others, to recognize their intentions, beliefs, and motivations, is strongly related to our ability to see the perspective of others. Our eyes do more than just see the world. They transform it.
A 130 page genre-blending, non-fiction book for general audiences that is not just read, but processed, Seeing Empathy requires you to take a step back and to understand not only how you visualize the world, but how the world views you. It is a journey into why we see (and feel) the way we do using current lessons from cognitive psychology as well as observations, illustrations about perspective, and personal anecdotes. In addition, sketch and journal prompts have been added to aid you in understanding your own empathy experience - You read. You sketch. You journal. And, you “see” the world again differently.
From Black Lives Matter to the March on the Capitol in Washington D.C., it is evident that many people have difficulty seeing things from another’s point of view. As our society becomes more and more polarized, empathy is needed now more than ever. We can actually improve our ability to be more empathetic. We can make it more likely that we will respond to a situation with compassion.
All we need to do is to learn to “see” empathy.
Listen to Kelley discussing Seeing Empathy
From the Master’s Showcase Launch for the Cambridge School of Art. Video begins at minute 35.
View a sample of Seeing Empathy :
You can view a sample of Seeing Empathy here for a limited time. This online copy is not for distribution purposes and has been compressed reducing the quality of the images. If you are from ARU and would like to read a pdf of the original, please send an email with your request to kelley.donner@gmail.com or use the contact form at the bottom of this page. If you would like to buy the book, please read the information below.
Buy Seeing Empathy…
Unfortunately, Seeing Empathy is not yet available for purchase. I am currently in the process of looking for a publisher. If you would like to be informed when Seeing Empathy will be available in a bookstore near you, please add your email to the list below.
About Kelley…
Kelley Donner has always had a fascination for how art and psychology coincide. An article based on her Master’s dissertation, “Theory of Mind Barriers to Understanding Illustrations in Primary School Literature: A Case Study of False Belief Scenarios in Early Readers,” will be published in the Journal of Visual Literacy: Special Edition Truth and Lies in Visual Literacy in 2021 and was also cited in Rune Pettersson’s book Using Images. In addition, Kelley has self-published five children’s books including The Day the Lines Changed which was featured in the Washington Post as one of the top ten pandemic-related children’s books in 2020. Kelley lives in Cambridge, UK.
For more info on Kelley, click on the tabs at the top of this page. Please note, there is no direct link from the toolbar to this page.