New Jersey History (NJH - E-Journal)
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African-American Art History: Reflections on Expanding Pedagogy in 21st Century Liberal Arts Contexts
No full textAn undergraduate seminar on African-American Art History was used as a case study to explore how critical perception skills may be developed through the implementation of interactive exercises. Active looking, creative connections, and experiential learning were among the pedagogical approaches embedded into the content. The goal was not to write a revisionist history of the subject matter but to utilize existing resources to reconfigure how the historical narrative may be discussed and articulated through diverse vantage points. Examples of assignments are provided as models and SoTL thought experiments. Reflections upon the definition of critical perception' versus critical thinking' and visual thinking' are also included in the article. Consideration is given to ways of using critical perception to cultivate a sense of empathy and flexible reasoning. Critical perception is regarded as a cornerstone of art historical practice presenting educators with an opportunity to teach a skill set which could be leveraged to raise awareness about the relevancy of a discipline that is all too often relegated to the edge environment of academic curricula
The Case of Sharon Considered from the Vantage Point of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy
No full textIn Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT: Benjamin, 2003/2006; 2018) a case formulation is used to tailor interventions to each patient’s unique patterns. Using the IRT lens, psychopathology is understood as reflecting attempts to adapt to current environments using maladaptive rules and values that were learned and internalized in the context of close attachment relationships. IRT identifies precise ways in which early learning shapes present experience. Additionally, the "gift of love" (GOL) hypothesis posits that motivation to repeat maladaptive ways is linked to the wish to receive love and acceptance from specific internalized attachment figures by repeating their ways and values for the patient. The IRT case formulation has been shown to be reliable and valid (Critchfield, Benjamin, & Levenick, 2015). The therapy adherence measure is also reliable (Critchfield, Davis, Gunn, & Benjamin, 2008) and correlates well with retention as well as reduced symptoms and rehospitalization rates (Karpiak, Critchfield, & Benjamin, 2011) among "difficult to treat" patients characterized as having high levels of personality disorder, chronic and severe problems, and prior failed treatment attempts. To illustrate the case formulation process, an IRT formulation is applied to the case of a 28-year-old female patient for whom a poor outcome was documented
Food and Cultural Politics: A Culinary Lens into Teaching American Art and Culture
No full textSeeking to challenge students to think deeply and critically about American art and material culture and their broad socio-cultural implications in the past and present, I developed in 2017 a course that explored the interpretation of foodstuff and American foodways in American art, prints and commercial advertising, and material culture. This article analyzes the pedagogical objectives of the course in its integration of a multi-modal learning approach that reinforced connections between learning, experiencing, and critical interpretation. Capitalizing on the emergence of scholarship in food studies in American art and through other cross-disciplinary readings students analyzed food symbolism, racial and economic stereotyping, depictions of production and labor, the provision and circulation of food stuff, excess or deprivation at various historical moments, and issues of gender, race and social status, as related to food production and consumption. The course privileged depth over coverage, immersed students in interrogations of complex and often fraught ideas, engaged them in object-based learning and required that they apply developed skills in disciplinary research. In its integration of multi-faceted reflective, interactive, embodied experiential learning and a social justice component, a cookbook that included students' research that was sold as a fundraiser, the course expanded beyond the classroom and connected historical and visual literacy with current ideological concerns
Decolonizing the Classroom: Native American Art History, the Voice of Indigenous Students, and Community-Oriented Teaching
No full textAs a professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, I seek to understand the role of Native students in the teaching of Native art history, while not losing sight of the potential dangers of asking minority students to somehow represent or speak for an entire race. Like museums, the classroom is a historically colonizing space, but also an important site for revolution and transformation. In my course on North American Indian Art, in which roughly two-thirds of the students identify as Native, I strive to expose students to a range of Indigenous arts and crafts and the theoretical and spiritual contexts that surround them. My goals while teaching this material are as follows: 1) give a voice to Native students who are functioning in a university structure that, as part of a larger bureaucratic system, has served to historically oppress them as a people; 2) both serve and absorb into my classroom the Native community in which I teach; and 3) remain teachable myself. None of these goals would be attainable without the contributions of the Native students in my class. This essay explores their role and mine within the revisionist, decolonizing process that has taken shape within the study and display of Native American art and culture in the United States
Intersections: Art and the Museum as Sites for Civic Dialogue
No full textThis essay describes the structure, pedagogy, and intent behind "Intersections," a gallery program at the Art Institute of Chicago that occurred monthly between November 2016 and March 2020. The program, which continues less frequently and in a virtual format today, positions artworks as catalysts for helping people make sense of current events and timely issues. In doing so, it reframes adult learning in the museum as collaborative, dialogic, and open-ended, rather than setting up an experience that is primarily expert-driven and informational. Art historical methods such as visual analysis and consideration of primary source texts, along with collaborative learning activities which have proven effective in the classroom, are harnessed by facilitators to support individual and collective meaning making in the museum. Art made in the United States from the 19th century to today offers important opportunities for making relevant connections between the past and contemporary issues, though measuring learning outcomes in a free-choice learning environment like the museum is challenging. The article describes initial attempts to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback on the impact that participating in Intersections has had, while asserting that the potentially transformative learning which results can encourage healthy civic discourse beyond the museum's walls
The Adjudicated Case Study Method, Part 2: Editor’s Introduction
No full textThis article introduces readers to the present PCSP issue on the "adjudicated case study method." This method employs concepts from the law for evaluating qualitative information to determine the truth of statements about human psychology and behavior, including causal statements about psychotherapy outcome. Two models of the adjudicated case study method, which were originally presented in PCSP in 2011, are covered: Ronald Miller’s "Panels of Psychological Inquiry" (PPI), and Arthur Bohart’s "Research Jury Method." The issue concludes with a Commentary by Robert Elliott, Susan Stephen, and Anna Robinson.
Philosophical Considerations and Research Ideas About Comparing the Two Approaches: Messer’s Comments Point the Way Forward
No full textIn his commentary, Stanley Messer (2021) posed the question of whether it is possible to evaluate the relative merits of different case formulation approaches to psychotherapy. He went on to maintain, based on the pragmatic theory of truth, that it is possible to compare different case formulation approaches, and pointed to a program of research that he and his collaborators conducted as an example for possible future research (Collins & Messer, 1991; Holland, Roberts, & Messer, 1998; Messer, Tishby, & Spillman, 1992; Tishby & Messer, 1995). In this reply, we express our appreciation for Messer’s remarks, with which we agree in large measure, and attempt to highlight and build upon some of the points he made. We discuss Dewey’s (1896) classic critique of the reflex arc concept to point out other ways the philosophical perspective of pragmatism supports the view that different approaches to therapy are not incommensurate. We also offer a number of suggestions for future research comparing psychotherapy based on Interpersonal Defense Theory and IRT, or any two case formulation approaches to therapy. At many points, our suggestions follow along the lines of Messer’s research. We also emphasize the value of case formulation-based studies, not only with regard to research comparing approaches to treatment, but for investigating other issues about therapy as well.
Goals and Design of the Project and Basic Information About Sharon’s Case
No full textThis paper sets the stage for subsequent papers in this set of articles, which collectively offer a comparative examination of two approaches to case formulation and treatment by examining the same case from the two theoretical perspectives. One approach is based on Interpersonal Defense Theory (e.g., Westerman, 2018, 2019), the other is Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT, Benjamin, 2006, 2018). In this paper, we present the goals of the project and its design, which was novel in some respects. We also introduce the case by presenting basic clinical information about the patient, Sharon (pseudonym), and describing the short-term therapy approach that was employed. The concluding section introduces the subsequent papers in this set, which includes a commentary by Stanley Messer that raises fundamental methodological/philosophy of science issues about comparing the relative merits of different therapy approaches and a reply to that commentary that addresses the important questions it poses.
Reconstructing and/or Deconstructing Masculinity: A Commentary on the Case of "Tommy"
No full textMen’s psychological well-being has in recent decades garnered increasing attention in research, clinical practice, and larger society. Dewey’s insightful case study provides an occasion for reflecting on the multiple conceptual lenses that can be used to understand and work with masculinity in psychotherapy. In this commentary, we discuss how these conceptualizations of masculinity facilitate different approaches to psychotherapy at the levels of treatment planning and intervention. We offer our own approach to masculine identity work, noting specific points of contrast with the approach illustrated by Dewey. Finally, we critically explore the clinical and societal implications of concepts like "toxic masculinity" and "healthy masculinity" in light of social justice pursuits for gender equality. Throughout, we emphasize the importance for clinicians to make deliberate choices about how masculinity is conceptualized and to consider the pragmatic consequences of these conceptual choices
Individualizing Evidence-Based Treatment of Neuropsychiatrically Complex Patients: Process-Based Targets for Change in Parkinson’s Depression
No full textProviding evidence-based treatment always requires responding in the moment to apparent gaps between the protocol and the patient’s presenting needs and preferences. In the treatment of depression in Parkinson’s disease (PD), research has shown that providing PD-specialized, empirically supported interventions is paramount. However, given PD’s highly heterogeneous symptom presentations, adapting and individualizing treatment to address each patient’s unique constellation of neuropsychiatric symptoms and PD-related physical challenges is equally important. This Commentary on the article by Dr. Logan Durland (2020) focuses on the importance of attending to process-based factors to inform protocol adaptations in the treatment of Parkinson’s depression, guided by the framework of functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP). The FAP approach applies behavioral principles to in-session processes as a means of highlighting and therapeutically targeting clinically relevant behaviors in real time. Seeking such opportunities to foster within-session change may be especially important when providing evidence-based treatment to individuals with co-occurring mental health issues and chronic, functionally limiting medical problems like PD. As these patients manage the interactions between the complex demands of illness self-management and the burden of mental health symptoms, they must respond adaptively to unpredictable daily challenges. Harnessing moments of clinically relevant struggle during sessions in order to support and reinforce new responses—including new ways of approaching the learning process itself—can help patients consolidate both the coping skills themselves and flexibility and confidence to apply them