Seminar Series 3: Lecture 7 - Aftab Omer

‘Belonging to One Another: Principles and Practices for
Engaging the Other’ 

Aftab Omer, Institute of Imaginal Studies, California, USA: 'Belonging to One Another: Principles and Practices for Engaging the Other'

Key ideas:

• Shame: an emotion which evokes awkward feeling in relation to particular topics and behaviours.
• False belonging: a sense of belonging which is built upon a sense of oneself based on the exclusion of others.
• Exposure: non-mutual examination of the shame of another which involves a violation of sovereignty.
• Sovereignty: autonomy and integrity.
• Mirror neurons: electrically excitable cells in the nervous system which activate both when an animal performs an action and when the animal observes the same action performed by another animal. Thus, the neuron ‘mirrors’ the behaviour of another animal, as though the observer were itself performing the action.
• Restorative justice: focuses on crime as an act against another individual or community rather than the state. It encompasses a growing social movement to institutionalise peaceful approaches to harm, problem-solving and violations of legal and human rights. Rather than privileging the law or the state, restorative resolutions engage those who are harmed, wrong-doers and their affected communities in search of solutions that promote repair, reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships. [Suffolk University, College of Arts & Sciences, Centre for Restorative Justice]