Bina D’Costa, ‘Learning to be a Compassionate Academic’, Australian Journal of International Affairs, 71(1) 2017: 3-7.

Due to the nature of my research I deal with material that includes accounts of often-extreme violence. Our social world is also replete with awful, awful stories. I am, and to some extent, you and I both are, bearing witness to the vicious tornadoes of violence/insecurity that encircle this world, and the menacing teeth of state/non-state actions that now terrorise even those who live a sheltered life. Only empathy and kindness could save us from this collective trauma. What kind of methodology do we need to employ that allows us to practice empathy and kindness in our research? Remembering the importance of not conflating compassion with ethics, how does one become a compassionate academic?