M. Brinton Lykes (born 1949) is an American psychologist who has established a reputation for her work on psychosocial effects of state-sponsored terror and organized violence.

Life

Lykes originally hailed from New Orleans. She obtained her first BA degree from

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, Virginia, Botetourt Springs, it is Timeline of women's colleges in the Un ...

before proceeding to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where she obtained an M.Div. in Applied Theology. She obtained a Ph.D. in Community Psychology from Boston College. Lykes has worked at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

since 1992 where she was promoted from assistant professor to full professor in the Lynch School of Education. She has held various posts including department chair and Associate Dean.

Work

Lykes work has focused on understanding the impact of state-sponsored violence and terror. She has worked mostly in Central America, in particular with the

Maya peoples Maya () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived w ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. She has used

participatory action research Participatory action research (PAR) is an approach to action research emphasizing participation and action by members of communities affected by that research. It seeks to understand the world by trying to change it, collaboratively and followi ...

and

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

as her primary research methods. She is the co-founder of the Martín-Baró Fund for Mental Health and Human Rights. She is the co-editor of the

International Journal of Transitional Justice The ''International Journal of Transitional Justice'' is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed academic journal published triannually by Oxford University Press to provide a forum for transitional justice as an academic discipline in its own right. ...

. In 2016, Lykes was promoted from Associate Director to Co-Director of the Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Boston College.

Awards

Lykes has received a variety of awards for her work including the APA International Humanitarian Award of the American Psychological Association and the Ignacio Martín-Baró Lifetime Peace Practitioner Award of the APA Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence.

Publications

* Lykes, M. Brinton. 1996. A conversation between William Ryan and M. Brinton Lykes. Section VI in ‘Myths about the powerless: contesting social inequalities’. Edited by M. Brinton Lykes, Ali Banuazizi, Ramsay Liem and Michael Morris. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. * Lykes, M. Brinton. 1996. Introduction in ‘Myths about the powerless Contesting social inequalities’. Edited by M. Brinton Lykes, Ali Banuazizi, Ramsay Liem and Michael Morris. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. * Lykes, M. B. & Sibley, E. (2014). Liberation psychology and pragmatic solidarity: North-South collaborations through the Ignacio Martín-Baró Fund. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 20(3), 209–226. * Lykes, M.B. (2014). Maya Women of Chajul. In Coghlan, D. & Brydon-Miller, M. (Eds). The SAGE encyclopedia of action research. (Vols. 1–2) (pp. 529–532) . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. * Lykes, M.B. (2014). Ignacio Martín-Baró. In Coghlan, D. & Brydon-Miller, M. (Eds). The SAGE encyclopedia of action research. (Vols. 1–2) (pp. 523–526). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

References

21st-century American psychologists Boston College faculty Fellows of the American Psychological Association Harvard Divinity School alumni Living people Boston College alumni 1949 births Hollins University alumni Peace psychologists 20th-century American psychologists {{US-psychologist-stub