Red Talk with Professor Sharon Suh

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is excited to invite you to the winter installment of Red Talks! All community members — students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends – are encouraged to join the second Red Talk of the year: 

The Social Determinants of Race-based Trauma and Collective Healing: Where Buddhism, Neuroscience, and Mindfulness Intersect
with Sharon Suh, Ph.D., Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Thursday, Feb. 2, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Pigott Auditorium

Mindfulness has certainly reached market saturation. In this talk, Professor Suh explores how contemporary mindfulness practices have continued to serve the individual at the expense of the collective and uncovers how white privilege and white supremacy continues to impact and limit their potential effects. She argues that race-based trauma is socially determined and an individualized approach to healing is simply not enough. Drawing from studies in Buddhism, neuroscience, and mindfulness, Suh shares insights from trauma-sensitive mindfulness and trauma-informed yoga that have proven effective for helping survivors find safety in the body which is crucial for health and recovery.

About Sharon Suh, PhD 

Sharon Suh, PhD is a professor of Buddhism in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University where she teaches courses in Buddhist Thought and Practice, Socially Engaged Buddhism, Buddhism and Film, Introduction to Buddhism, and Buddhism, Gender, and Sexuality. Her work emphasizes the importance of trauma-sensitive mindfulness and trauma-informed yoga to increase the capacity for individual and collective resilience. She is the author of several articles and book chapters on Buddhism, gender, and race including Silver Screen Buddha: Buddhism in Asian and Western Film (Bloomsbury Press, 2015) and Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir (Sumeru Press, 2019). She is also president of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women, the largest non-profit organization dedicated to Buddhist women’s global flourishing. 

About Red Talks 

Red Talks is a speaker series featuring intersectional voices on a range of topics under the umbrella of inclusive excellence at Seattle University. Led by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in partnership with the Office of the Provost, the series aims to elevate faculty voices at SU across disciplines, as well as the voices of prominent thought leaders in the broader community. This year’s theme, "Freedom Dreaming": Intersectional Voices on Collective Liberation, will provide a forum to explore what it means to empower community, nurture radical inclusion, and imagine transformation. 

For more information, visit Red Talks.