Sharon Sliwinski, a Professor in Information and Media Studies and author of An Alphabet for Dreamers, explores the social and political significance of dreams. She discusses how dreams once informed collective decision-making and argues they serve as vital sources of knowledge. The alphabet format of her book encourages curiosity and creative thinking. Sharon shares insights from her COVID Dream Project and highlights the therapeutic potential of dreams, connecting them to mental health and Indigenous beliefs.
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insights INSIGHT
Dreams As Lost Social Knowledge
Dreams were once central sources of both individual and collective knowledge across many cultures.
Sharon Sliwinski argues modern societies have forgotten dreaming's civic and epistemic roles.
insights INSIGHT
Dreams Foster Curiosity Over Defensiveness
Dreams put people into a curious, questioning state that lowers defensive reactions.
Sliwinski links that curiosity to better social perception and political awareness.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Ask About Dreams To Open Conversation
Treat dreams like visual experiences to translate into words and experiment with meaning.
Ask about dreams to create distance from distress and open new ways of talking in relationships.
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Borrowing from the traditional alphabet book genre for children, An Alphabet for Dreamers: How to See the World with Eyes Closed (MIT Press, 2025) by Dr. Sharon Sliwinski provides adult readers with a new grammar for dreams, or what neuroscientist Sidarta Ribeiro calls “oracles of the night.” In this book, Dr. Sliwinski restores dreaming to its proper place as an important worldmaking activity, one that offers a gateway to another way of seeing. Each of the short chapters engages a dream from the historical record—from both the recent and distant past—to show how these experiences can help make sense of profound social conflicts and transform our shared reality. Thinking alongside the dreams of powerful exemplars—from Harriet Tubman to contemporary Indigenous activist Abigail Echo-Hawk—readers come to understand how dream life is a crucial resource for generating new worlds and new ways of being. The book brings together urgent concerns from the domains of critical theory, visual culture, and mental health to show how dreaming serves as a vital source of knowledge and a critical mode of thinking. As with traditional alphabet books, illustrations provide an integral voice. Each chapter of the book is accompanied by an original watercolor painting by Melinda Josie that visually underscores the way dreams serve as a unique medium for processing our lived experience. Together, the images and text form a delicate dialogue, drawing attention to the details of the central scenes, extending the book’s special mode of thinking in painted form. By working alongside dreamers from the past and present, An Alphabet for Dreamers begins a new and much-needed conversation about the social and political importance of dream life.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.
New Books in Psychology