Masterclass: Self-Care and Ethical Practice for Trauma-Facing Researchers

A masterclass by Bruce Shapiro (Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, Columbia University) organised by the Trinity Long Room Hub's Schuler Democracy Forum. Immersion in research on individual or community trauma challenges the skill, ethics and personal capacities of investigators. Whether working with documentary or human sources, researchers looking at systemic violence, atrocity and abuses of power must confront disturbing information, navigate relationships with profoundly violated populations, and manage our own responses and reactions. This masterclass will establish a basic framework for understanding how direct and vicarious trauma exposure affect both the subjects of research and researchers, and provide basic self-care and peer support strategies. This session will also discuss issues arising from graphic visual imagery, and cover the relationship between research ethics and psychological trauma, an intersection often conceptualized as moral injury. Bruce Shapiro is executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of Columbia Journalism School devoted to innovation in news coverage of violence, conflict and tragedy worldwide. He is also on the advisory board of the Schuler Democracy Forum and is a contributing editor at The Nation magazine, where he writes about American politics, law and culture. The workshop is open to all interested Trinity research postgraduate students and academic staff. Register here. Lunch will be provided. Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact: PAYNEEL@tcd.ie