Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

This paper highlights the ways in which body mapping methodology was used in a graduate-level arts-based research class in sociology. This course focused on applying various arts-based pedagogical approaches, with an emphasis on how the arts in education can be used for individual and collective healing, specifically during the trauma of a global pandemic. This study illuminates the artwork, voices, and experiences of the instructor and graduate students. I share the purpose and process of facilitating a body mapping workshop with graduate students. I will detail the artistic process, what the body maps represent, and the ways in which the arts-based assignment as a form of healing. Concluding thoughts discuss the strengths, limitations, and possibilities of using body mapping methodology for teaching and learning about arts-based research.