Investigative Selfism

Why these two projects – The Exploding Head and Investigative Selfism?

Political science holds good answers to important questions.

• How does change happen?
• What systems and policies can result in more equal, peaceful, and inclusive societies?
• How do we get there?

I find it absolutely fascinating. That’s what I’ve studied and what I’m currently working with.

Yet if we look at the individual level – the smallest unit of analysis – suddenly, it requires very different tools.

In anything, we definitely need to expand our tool base here: political science alone is not enough.

This is why we need mindfulness.

• Compassion.
• Empathy.
• Befriending ourselves so we can befriend others.
• Acknowledging our insecurities instead of trying to exert power over others.
• Sitting with our pain instead of getting mobilised against those “others”.
• Healing our traumas instead of passing them on.
  

And that’s why we need storytelling:

To use its power to talk about – and to remind ourselves of – our shared humanity.

Through my professional experience, in my studies and less academic pursuit of interests, I have been combining these three areas for some time now.

Interestingly, they are tightly connected: without one set of understanding there wouldn’t be the other one.

I have kept them separate not to confuse my audiences too much, yet you can surely follow both of them!