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Coming Home: Grief Through The Lens of Dance/Movement Therapy
Get PDFGrief has always been part of the human experience and stands “at the intersection of attachment and separation, of love and loss.” This paper examines the history of grief within psychiatric and psychological frameworks to uncover how we have come to understand and process the nature of grief and how we can incorporate body-based interventions into the grieving experience. The role of the body remains at the heart of the grieving process; however, this has been overlooked in the literature (Fuchs, 2017). Many of the foundational psychological theories on grief center around the process of grief being cognitive and lack the embodiment, and body-specific impact that is profound in the grief experience (Pearce et al., 2022). In reflecting on the embodied quality of grief, Gundmundsdotttir (2009) proposes not viewing the bodily symptoms as psychosomatic reactions that reflect maladaptive coping, but rather to understand the role the body plays in being able to guide individuals grieving through the process of reorganizing, adjusting and learning to navigate their new world, through information that the body is providing. By exploring the body’s felt sensations and tapping into imagery and metaphor, dance/movement therapy can support people in grief through a process focused on: remembering the person who died and integrating conscious and unconscious memories; re-remembering and re-learning who we are in our body with the grief and a sense of living differently; and finding access to experience the full expression of one’s grief in a safe and supportive space
Children\u27s Agency Through the Lens of a Love Ethic: The Radical Imaginary
Get PDFThe lack of agency available to minoritized children in the classroom is indicative of systemic racism in education. Opposing this structural issue necessitates a multi-dimensional love ethic that is capable of transcending the classroom and breaking from the history of exclusion observed in this country. This research aims to contribute to that reality by creating a foothold for the radical imaginary of what education could become. Outlining this segregation by experience across the ecological systems of a child’s life, the project begins with an examination of recent research in conjunction with current events. Then, in looking at the chrono and macrosystems, the project discusses the issue as it has developed throughout history and across policy. It concludes with research on teacher agency and a celebration of real-world classroom practices that promote childrens’ agency at school. The hope of this work is to give context to a societal issue in order to prepare our community to take the steps towards a new north star, sparking a revolutionary progression towards freedom
Trans Cannibalism
Get PDFIn this writing, cannibalism as a symbol of taboo and villainy are explored alongside trans identities and modes of making. Using examples from popular media such as Silence of the Lambs and Psycho, cannibalism and queerness are vessels to explore how performance is made. When your existence is politicized and your body is a symbol of fear, how does that inform the process of creating art? How can trans artists cannibalize and consume in order to reify and remake new possibilities of performance? To begin, examples of pop culture cannibals are examined and dissected through the lens of trans villainy. Trans identities as inherently villainous or taboo is posited against the taboo around cannibalism. This analysis is enacted in practice via the Brazilian art movement of antropofagia from its origins to modern day theatrical interpretations. The liminal space of trans bodies in the digital world is explored in the final chapter, in which the consumption of virtual bodies can be a tool for liberation or continued oppression. Following the essay is a conversation with John Jarboe regarding her performance Rose: You Are What You Eat in which RED and John get into the nitty gritty of trans cannibalism.
White this paper is merely a lily pad and not yet a landing place, the question of finding liberation in the taboo is the fulcrum of this writing. What does it mean when we are all cannibals
Iterative Performance: Resistance and Opportunity in the Rhythm of Returns
Get PDFThis paper defines iterative performance as a live, time-based project in which multiple returns to the same framework (score, prompt, location, group) at regular intervals fundamentally shapes the dramaturgy of the work. The author asserts that the rhythm of regular returns inherent to iterative performance offers an alternative temporality that resists dominant, capitalist and heteronormative modes of living and making art, and creates the conditions for distinct artistic possibilities. Chapter 1 outlines the theoretical frameworks for this argument and introduces three key ways in which iterative performance is able to achieve the aforementioned goals. Chapter 2 explores three case studies through interviews with the artists, textual research and first-hand experience. The chapter concludes with two appendices, one a composite interview with Alex Torra and Iris McCloughan about The Sincerity Project , the other a partial index of contemporary iterative performance projects
Abolition as Therapy: The Role of Dance/Movement Therapy in the Abolition of Police
No full textPolice violence is a public health crisis that disproportionately affects historically marginalized communities with far-reaching effects on the mental health of its survivors, their loved ones and wider communities. This thesis argues that abolishing the police would be therapeutic to American society and that dance/movement therapists have a unique skill set to offer a world without police. Data and literature on police brutality, training, and bias are analyzed. Literature on the mental health impacts of police and relevant dance/movement therapy literature are reviewed. The values and practice of the abolition movement are compared to those of dance/movement therapy. Examples of dance/movement therapy’s potential role in abolition of the police are explored on the systemic, interpersonal and personal levels. The author suggests that by engaging in practices on personal, interpersonal and systemic levels that facilitate the abolition of police, dance/movement therapists can provide lasting and self-sustaining therapeutic benefits for themselves and the many populations that they serve
Contextualizing Feminism Within Igbo History And An Analysis Of The Works Of Ngozi Anyanwu
Get PDFThroughout Nigeria’s history, Igbo women have contended with violence from colonial and imperialist forces and misogyny from the Igbo men in their communities. In solidarity with one another, Igbo women have continued to fight back to ensure their voices are heard in politics and access to professional careers. The Nigerian- and Igbo-American playwright Ngozi Anyanwu writes about Igbo women who assert themselves and maintain their agency throughout cultural and interpersonal conflicts, similar to these historical strategies. Anyanwu’s plays The Homecoming Queen, Good Grief, and My Name…is Beatrice feature women dealing with grief, sexual trauma, and access to reproductive healthcare between Nigerian and American societies. There is evidence that these examples of solidarity in struggle can be considered feminist in nature. Taking care not to force a definition onto an entire culture, I highlight aspects of feminism within Igbo culture and Anyanwu’s works to better understand feminism within an Igbo context
Implementation of a Patient Decision Aid to Facilitate the Selection of a Pre-Test Genetic Counseling Model
Get PDFGenetic testing is being increasingly offered to patients that have a personal or family history of cancer. This has led to a higher demand of patients needing to meet with genetic counselors (GCs) for pre-test counseling and education, which has led to increased wait times for appointments. In order to ameliorate the long wait times patients now face, alternatives such as providing patient education through a series of online educational materials are now being offered. Patient decision aids (PtDAs) are tools created by a team of healthcare professionals that assist patients in making important decisions regarding their healthcare. For this study, we created a PtDA for patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) to assist them in choosing between a traditional pre-test genetic counseling pathway and a novel online Direct-To-Test (DTT) pathway. Eligible participants were asked to complete a baseline survey before viewing the PtDA, and then a post-survey after using the PtDA. Participants voluntarily self-reported information, such as demographics, reason for pursuing genetic testing, anxiety levels using the GAD-2 scale, and understanding of genetics using in the baseline survey. The post-survey asked participants to report which pathway they would choose, factors that influenced their decision, decisional regret using the SURE scale, satisfaction with the PtDA using a 5-item Likert scale, and evaluation of their knowledge of genetics using the KnowGene scale. The results indicated that participants were highly satisfied with the PtDA, and had little regret over their final decision. Satisfaction with the PtDA was also found to be correlated with KnowGene scores. This study can be used as a guide for a larger investigation into the use and effectiveness of PtDAs in regards to patient preference concerning genetics education