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How can we make scientific writing engaging for both experts and everyday readers? Why is focusing on local, collective action the key to real social change? What practical steps can we take to shift cultural patterns and build more just communities?
In this podcast episode, Joe Sanok discusses transforming cultural patterns to build more just communities with Nilanjana Dasgupta.
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Meet Nilanjana Dasgupta
Nilanjana Dasgupta is a social psychologist and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, specializing in the study of bias, diversity, and social change. With a focus on how cultural patterns shape our behaviors and perceptions, Nilanjana’s work explores the power of collective action in transforming communities and creating more just societies. She is the author of Change the Wallpaper: Transforming Cultural Patterns to Build More Just Communities, where she applies scientific research to practical solutions for social change.
Visit Nilanjana’s website and Change the Wallpaper.
In This Podcast
- How to write a book that scientists and everyday folks enjoy
- Why you should focus on the local world
- How you bring about real change
- Nilanjana’s advice to private practitioners
How to write a book that scientists and everyday folks enjoy
I really felt it was important to be science-driven, not to dumb-down the evidence, and to take my reader seriously, and that for me meant [using] three tools; stories combined with evidence, the science, and metaphors. (Nilanjana Dasgupta)
Nilanjana is inspired to share with her audience and the world the work that she has completed, and writing a book is a fantastic tool to do so.
However, in order not to alienate everyday people from scientific writing and not to undermine the quality of her work, she wrote her book using three tools to keep it entertaining and informative:
- Stories
- Scientific evidence
- Metaphors
So, “Change the Wallpaper”, the title of the book, is a metaphor for a concept that is key in social psychology which is the power of the situation. The idea that oftentimes our thoughts and behaviors are nudged in small ways that we are not aware of by situational forces around us that seem small but compound over time. (Nilanjana Dasgupta)
Why you should focus on the local world
Throughout the world today, people are feeling powerless. The way that things are changing, both politically and economically, has left everyone feeling a little disconcerted, no matter their preferences.
By reading between the lines, changing the wallpaper, we are able to shift the environment that we find ourselves in, instead of staying uncomfortable forever.
My answer to the people who ask me is that the most effective sphere of individuals, for us who are ordinary people who are not politicians, for us to have an impact, if we want to create a just society, is to act in our local sphere, because that is the place – our local place – is the place where we have the biggest impact. The sphere of influence is local. (Nilanjana Dasgupta)
How you bring about real change
The way that we can change our situation is by getting involved locally. Through collective and localized action, our actions have much stronger and positive impacts.
Therefore, find the group of people who share your concerns, your passion for a better, unified, healthier and safer future environment to live in, and combine your efforts together to bring it to fruition.
I can tell you the evidence of what works and what doesn’t work, and what works is more of acting collectively with other people. What works less is acting alone. What works more is acting on issues that are about changing material things, like things related to education, health, income, etc. Those are more important issues to act on … that are more important than purely symbolic things. (Nilanjana Dasgupta)
Here is how you change your local world for the better:
- Engage in local, collective action
- Align yourself and your actions with people who share your values and ethics
- Engage in supporting tangible change, particularly around issues relating to income, education, and healthcare
- Create nourishing and supportive relationships with those around you
- Remember that sustainable and effective change is a marathon, not a sprint
The book directs people to the power of situations as the key to making change through collective action, not individual action. (Nilanjana Dasgupta)
Nilanjana’s advice to private practitioners
For all listeners, remember that change happens locally, through collective action, and not through facts, but within and from relationships. Change happens slowly through repeated actions and small steps. Keep at it, and the good things will come!
Books mentioned in this episode:
Nilanjana Dasgupta – Change the Wallpaper: Transforming Cultural Patterns to Build More Just Communities
Carmine Gallo – Talk Like TED: The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds
Sponsors Mentioned in this episode:
- Get your ticket today for the MHM conference in October! Use the discount code JOE to get 10% off any ticket!
- Trust me, don’t waste any more of your time, and try TherapyNotes.
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Visit Nilanjana’s website and Change the Wallpaper.
Check out these additional resources:
How to Integrate Yoga into Counseling with Chris McDonald | POP 1241
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Meet Joe Sanok
Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners who are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.
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