Jasmine Alinder & Nakia S Gordon at TEDxHarambee

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations) TEDxHarambee - STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Music). Milwaukee's first TEDx event. May 9th 2013 in Harambee — a neighborhood with a rich and diverse history and a thriving arts and cultural center in Milwaukee. This talk will address the idea that images of violence can bring individuals to a "visual breaking point". This project combines art history and civil rights history with behavioral neuroscience to better understand the effect of historical images on people's emotion. Using this multilevel approach we attempt to understand how individual factors and historical context interact to create an emotional experience to images of violence. How do we sense history, particularly when it is represented through traumatic images? Given the proliferation of violence in movies and video games, one might assume that we have become desensitized to violence. But what about historical events, including late 19th century lynchings, or wartime trauma? Do people respond to those historical images in the same way? This project combines media studies, art history, and history with behavioral neuroscience to better understand the impact of historical images on people's affect. Using the scientific approach, we can systematically determine the emotional impact individuals experience. The humanities allow us to take that data and put it into a broader historical context. We are also able to comment on the individual and cultural factors that result in these experiences. When we introduce neuroimaging, we will be able to comment on biological changes that take place when someone engages with traumatic images. We may be able to analyze the data in such a way to "view" any differences between individuals who are desensitized and those who are not. Jasmine-AlinderThis approach would allow us to take a systems level approach to understanding human nature and the way that we interact not only with the visual world around us, but also with our historical past. These findings may help us understand how individuals are impacted by history. Neuroimaging technology has already provided data on the ways the brain functions when engaging with images of generalized trauma. This work aims to investigate how the brain operates while simultaneously grappling with memory and desensitization--the process by which real, traumatic events, enter the safer, more distant space of history. Jasmine Alinder, Associate Professor of History (specializing in Art History), University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Nakia S Gordon, Assistant Professor of Psychology (specializing in Affective Neuroscience), Marquette University