As urban renewal, climate change, and global migration pull individuals and communities out of their ecosystems, what can the phenomenon of “root shock” reveal to us about our current conditions? The term, coined by psychiatrist and writer Mindy Fullilove, refers to “the traumatic stress reaction to the destruction of all or part of one’s emotional ecosystem.” Fullilove's work shows us that being deracinated (uprooted) from our communities is not simply a singular disturbance — it is more like a public health crisis.
By addressing the unique role of displacement in our psychological, societal and ecological pain, this Study asks: how do we find our strength without the emotional and physical infrastructures that stabilize us?
Text: Mindy Fullilove’s Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America, and What We Can Do About It
Date: Thursday, November 5 at 7pm
Location: Hudson Yards with Samvit & Cherilyn