Toward a Theory of Institutional Mourning: School Closure as Emotional Phenomenon

• In Event: 41.084 - Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: 41.084-3 - Mapping the Margins of Marginalization: School Closing, Space, Place, and Educational Policy

Abstract

As scholars continue to chronicle the structural and material impact of school closure, it is also useful to develop theoretical frameworks for understanding their impact on the emotional lives of students, families, teachers, and community members. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders affected by school closure, I present a theory of “institutional mourning” to describe the experiences of these individuals. I define institutional mourning as the social and emotional processes undergone by individuals and communities facing the loss of a shared institution with which they are affiliated, particularly in instances where the individuals or communities in question occupy a socially marginalized status that amplifies their reliance on the institution or its relative significance in their lives.

Author

• Eve Louise Ewing, University of Chicago