Using Arts-Based Methods for Grief: Pulse and LGBTQ+ Students

• In Event: 47.025 - Entangled Sensualities: Bodies, Arts, Aesthetics, and Beyond in Qualitative Methodologies

Abstract

The present study seeks to address the following question: What are some ways in which students process grief after the Pulse shooting through arts-based instruction? The week-long study consisted of two face-to-face semi-structured interviews, each about 45 to 60 minutes long, with six undergraduate and graduate self-identified LGBTQ+ students and a week on their own creating photos. We used a grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) approach in the analysis. Four main themes emerged from the interviews and photographs: optimism, grief/mourning, ideological, and descriptive. Though this study prompted students to ponder on what Pulse tragedy meant to them, implications for teacher education are included, as it can be applied to other mass shootings or tragedies.

Authors

• Mario I Suárez, Utah State University

• Lobat Asadi, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Peter Scaramuzzo, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Patrick Slattery, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Chad R. Mandala, Texas A&M University - College Station