Graduate College of Social Work research professor Brené Brown will speak on vulnerability and culture at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts’ Wortham Theatre on Saturday, June 12. | Courtesy of Brené Brown
Graduate College of Social Work professor Brené Brown has been selected to share her research on humanity’s fear of vulnerability as part of the TEDx Houston conference this weekend.
The format for the conference involves brief 18-minute discussions between the panel and audience members, who must apply to be a member of the audience.
“It is a unique experience because it compels you to take one piece of your work and focus on why it’s important to you, and why you think it’s meaningful and relevant to others,” Brown said.
“You can’t teach in 18 minutes. You can only hope to ignite passion and inspire people to want to know more.”
Brown has spent over a decade researching the concepts of shame, fear, compassion and authenticity. At the heart of her research is the concept of vulnerability so, when given an 18-minute window, she decided that would be most important to talk about.
“We are a very vulnerability-phobic culture and many of our struggles in society today relate back to our inability to sit comfortably with it,” Brown said. “It is profoundly dangerous to not be able to hold and embrace what makes us vulnerable.”
Brown said that as soon as people allow themselves to be vulnerable, they open up to courage and inspiration.
TED is a national non-profit organization that focuses on “ideas worth spreading” in the worlds of technology, education and design. The organization allows for independently organized events in cities across the country such as TEDx Houston.
The purpose of the conference is to bring some of the city’s most influential people together in one room to discuss and debate innovations in technology, education and design.
“What I love about (it) is that it’s really a love affair with the city,” Brown said. “It’s an exciting, fresh and relevant look at what Houston’s doing.”
The event organizer and a committee compiled a roster of Houston’s thought leaders under the theme of “expanding perceptions.”
They hope to not only expand the audience’s perceptions on the topics presented but, according to their Web site, to also expand others perception of what Houston has to offer.
Brown said she hopes the event will bring understanding and recognition to the city and bring Houston’s thought leaders to a world stage.
Also representing UH at the conference will be assistant professor of Creative Writing Matt Johnson. Johnson is an author whose latest novels are The Great Negro Plot and Incognegro.
The roster also includes Baylor and Rice universities, business professionals and innovators from the Houston area.
Since the national organization’s inception in California in 1984, the conference has been host to speakers such as former Vice President Al Gore, Bill Gates, and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The TEDx conference will be held on Saturday, June 12 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts’ Wortham Theatre. Application forms to be a part of the audience are available on the conference web site.
