Take the group arts and crafts activity that these authors discussed. Students
participating in a group arts and craft activity tended to find a common enemy in
particular students acting out in the class. One student
spilled a glue substance all over the floor and the smell agitated and angered
the other surrounding participants. This is important because the authors feel
that true leadership comes in forms of both verbal and non-verbal communication
so they allowed the student to act out, which leads into the third tier of this
study. The authors moved on to another group in a similar situation but these
students have been together longer and were in a more sophisticated
developmental stage. The authors saw that students here were more willing to
follow one person’s behavior of acting out rather than to feel anger towards
them.
It would seem that in order to build community and find people to help tackle social justice issues, we must be willing to build report and share our stories with one another. This has been particularly true at my agency Housing and Services Inc. I have found ways to relate with my mentors and "higher ups" at the agency but our relationship is only as strong as I allow it to be. In other words, I built the strongest relationship with my direct mentor simply because I have been sharing the most personal experience with her and even in that pursuit I withhold the entirety of my story to keep the distance between our professional and personal relationship. As we briefly discussed, three feelings must be present to inspire us to act. We must be confortable acting in the group, the opportunity must not be coercive meaning we volunteer to act, and our actions are guided by something that matter. Before I tell more of my personal anecdote as to how these three relate to me at my agency, I would like to open this blog to discussion. What have your experiences been thus far at your agencies? Do you see potential to move your agency a little bit closer to their social justice goal? I would appreciate hearing your personal stories thus far at your agencies!
P.S: Please feel free to bring up the other two articles or any theme we discussed that was particularly interesting to you.
9 comments:
Andre, it was a great class, thanks. It has had me thinking a lot the past two days. How groups come together and become cohesive units of social change, and just how that is facilitated, are topics that have long lingered in my mind. I am interested in utilizing creative and artistic ways to promote change, and these readings have served as that impetus for new brainstorming.
Since my internship at Vera is not direct fieldwork and not so emotionally laden, it is difficult to relate the articles to my experiences thus far there. The cohort I work with and I all have a good, friendly relationship, but a lot of what we do involves research (i.e. grant writing, literature reviews, interviews, etc.). There is certainly a dynamic to discuss about trust, leadership, etc., but I find my work on campus with Active Minds to be a more apt example to talk about, if that’s okay.
As many of you know, AM’s mission is to raise mental health awareness and aid in the de-stigmatization of mental illness. I connect a lot to your statement: “It would seem that in order to build community and find people to help tackle social justice issues, we must be willing to build report and share our stories with one another.”
Particularly with our cause, the sharing of stories and personal adversity has been crucial to facilitating change. Everyone has a story. Everyone has an experience. Everyone has something to share and contribute. The sharing of these experiences heeds empathy and a human connection that’s difficult to verbalize. Being an issue that affects so many directly and indirectly, this is crucial to the movement. Also, two of the go-to phrases we use are: “Join the conversation” or “Change the conversation about mental health.” I think this ties in a lot to nonverbals and the “elephant in the room” idea. Discuss what isn’t being said. Talk about the facts, the problems, the myths, and the concerns.
Change begins with a movement and a narrative, and verbal dialogue is necessary for insight and awareness, in most cases. Wittig and Davis (p. 169) say, “The group is a microcosm of the outside world.” This is so true. The “group”—no matter how that manifests itself in the physical sense (dance, art, music, sports, debate, etc.)—is the vehicle for social change. It is representative of the interdependence needed to bring complex pieces of a puzzle together and to assume social responsibility.
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And what three important keys to leadership and solidarity that I will not forget: comfortable, non-coercive, and meaningful.
Thanks again, Andre.
Great class, Andre.
Just a few fleeting thoughts: 1) Your class showed us how difficult things can be to verbalize. Even though we became lost and frustrated about the absence of rules or leaders for your game, no one actually expressed that in the moment so 2) that underscored the importance of hearing/seeing what is not being said or shown. I like to say the therapist’s job is like a lifeguard scanning the horizon looking, not for something, but for what is missing that should be there (the swimmer, the life preserver, etc.) and 3) that the same person who invented psychodrama also invented self-help type groups (J.L. Moreno, early 1900s) is no accident.
Because groups are a microcosm of larger cultural structures and forces, they becomes a much easier place to start to see the ways that society is inside of the individual as well as the individual being inside of society. I wonder if there something about that group condition (particularly its non-verbal aspects), as it exists in your agencies, which makes the investigation, analysis, and transformation of social justice more possible than it might be with one on one therapeutic work or pure research.
Or to push the envelope, how does our class approach social justice differently because of the small group setting? Could we notice things about our own interactions that mirror social justice problems in the wider world?
Thank you, Andre, for a great class. I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot. I'm eager to hear what everyone has to say about the ideas we discussed and the readings, and how these relate to what's going on in their agencies. That'll be so exciting and interesting to hear about.
I do want to ask a question and share something with you. My question is: those three "keys" to leadership and solidarity (being comfortable; has to matter to you; has to be non-coercive, voluntary): did you come up with these three ingredients or did you read it someplace?
And here's what I want to share with you: in my Leadership and the Common Good class (on Friday) I talked about those three aspects in relation to the projects students are doing for that class (each student is designing an organization to address a social justice issue). You provided me an AWESOME framework for the students and for me to talk about their own projects.
Also, I want to thank you for reminding me that art--as process, not as final product--has such great value even though it is devalued. I devalue it myself. In my own life, I privilege "intellectual" activities over artistic activities, and privilege "end products" over process. I'd like to live my life differently, more artistically, more in the process than so focused on the end result. I'm not sure how to go about doing that because I've been successful in the "goal-oriented" mode, but it doesn't make for enjoying the moment. And I'd very much like to enjoy more of the moments.
Totally random departure from the other comments/blog protocol, but I have a question for Nico. Strikes me that the idea of group work dedicated to the aims of social justice is what your agency does. How did the readings strike you? Is this the same attitude toward group work (pros and cons) that you/Common Justice share? Did you have different questions for Andre given your experiences this year?
I want to start off by thanking you for a great class. Before our seminar, I never really took the time to think about how therapeutic art can be and the influences it may play for an individual. Additionally, I also never paid much attention to the three different components; leadership, trust and following others example. I saw them as separate factors in team work, but I didn’t realize the importance of them together, creating an even greater picture and end result.
I particularly liked the game that class played at the end of the period because it tied all three of these components together. After you gave us the rules, I was a bit confused and I sat there trying to dissect the rules and figure out what the “purpose” of the game was. For the leadership component, I believe one of the primary purposes was to see who would take on a leadership role and take the first initiative in “starting” the game. In this situation, though she selected a leader (Niko), I believe that the real leader was Minerva. The reason I believe so is because she was the first to speak out on what should be done. Additionally, in Minerva doing so, she was also exercising the other two components. She is trusting that Niko would be an effective leader and she is being wise and essentially, following others. She designated someone else to take on the role of leader because it seemed like she wanted to follow to learn how to be an effective leader first, before taking on such role. That was how I saw the game.
I also want to comment on the effectiveness of art therapy. At the beginning of the period when we were stuffing envelopes, Professor Waterston commented that it was very relaxing for her just to de-stress and maneuver her hands as such, when stuffing the envelopes. I can totally understand where she is coming from. I love coloring. When I am stress, I sometimes color because there is just something really relaxing about making an “art” piece with colors, and moving my hands freely. It is a way for me to freely express myself, while not having a central purpose of what needs to be done (ex: the feeling I would get when writing a paper). It just lets me ease my mind for a bit and I think that is one of the most significant purposes of art. To free your mind and express yourself.
In regards to your last few questions, when I think of implementing creativity for social justice goals, I think of the story that Ruby told during the alumni visit. She mentioned that she has started having makeup workshops with the girls at JobPath. I think her work is so inspirational because not only is she using her creativity and sharing it with others, she is also working towards a good purpose, helping her agency AND helping the clients! In this situation, all three of the feelings for the individuals involved are included as well!
Thank you Andre, I must confess that when I first read the articles you submitted for us I was intrigued with the idea of art as psychotherapeutic however I was not really excited with the topic. That being said, after our class on Thursday I understood why you are so passionate with this topic and why art is so important for you and for how you see, perceive and analyze different issues.
I am not an artistic person, so for me this is truly a very new and energizing way of looking at how we deal with social justice issues. I even touched on your “three feelings which must be present to inspire act,” with my mentor on Friday. In a discussion on how women in the different DV shelters see and perceive how they are treated and the treatment they must participate in. I do agree that in many, if not most, of our social justice organizations, having discipline and rules are key to maintaining a sense of control and organization. However in many circumstances, the key to motivation is how comfortable we are with what we do and how much does what we do matter to us and are we driven to act voluntarily as opposed to a necessity or obligation.
I also believe that in an organization such as the one I intern for, which confronts the issues, not only of women who have been battered but also of children who have been witnesses to many uncaring acts, the use of art as a coping and sharing mechanism would be an enormous help and a contributor towards some form healing process.
I am really glad you brought this topic for class discussion because, like Joe said, you have given much to think about in how we deal certain social issues.
Andre,
Great class! It was such a great discussion, one that needs to be had more often. To Professor Reitz question. I do think it is the aim of Common Justice (CJ) to work toward a resolution (or a different form of justice) through group work. However, I do think its very different from the reading. The group work has a very purposeful direction, and the level of collaboration is, in some way, a dividing type of work. While I am not so involved with the clients at CJ, and am working on different projects, there is a strong focus to have a group dynamic that inspires collaboration. However, given the work that revolves around violent offenses, the group dynamic can be tense and extremely strenuous. However, the process is one that all the parties tend to choose over a lengthy and traumatizing trial process and incarceration.
My experiences thus far have been defined by my immense learning curve. Aside from learning how the non-profit world functions, how bureaucracy can be a bigger road block to justice than one powerful person, my time at CJ has taught me to look at the world through a very different lens. Perhaps the reason I love it so much is the emphasis put on being critical when it comes to race and racism, especially in the context of our criminal justice system.
Something that did come up in class, which I thought was powerful, was this idea of process. I think too often people, myself included, focus so much on what success looks like, that we forget that the most can be done on the journey to the end. Like our agencies – what does the end goal look like? I always ask, are we so taken by the idea that we need to meet this deadline or have to have a certain number that we rush to the finish line but never really know what we did during the race? Part of this problem is funding, how politics work, and our own conceptualization of time. But, as Prof. Stein told me, the point is the process, not the end product.
I also want to say Andre thanks for such a wonderful and insightful class . In your class when I thought of your lesson in therapeutic art It reminds me of Amara and Cases. It reminded me that art can be useful for helping individuals. Even though Cases hasn't been mentioned recently, it shows that there are organization that make use of art programs with the purpose of being therapeutic. I also think of the influences it may play for an individual. The three different components that Michelle mentions leadership, trust and following others example together makes the combination of a good leader such as Martin Luther King and Barack Obama. Placing those components together make me realize that I should try harder to allow others to realize their potential allowing them to grow.
In regard to your last question when I think of implementing your passion for social justice goals I think of Michelle example and I think of Andre who has been working tirelessly to create a dance event for the tenants he serve and mix his love and passion for swing dancing with his organization . When I look at my agency I think there always potential to help move my organization forward because I believe in their cause, which is not easy since it is not for the fainthearted.
First and foremost, thank you so much Andre for creating a fruitful discussion through your lesson plan and a unique topic. Sorry for the late response I have been stuck at home with the flu and today was my first day back to school! At first, I was a bit unsure whether the specific types of art you chose would connect to themes of social justice—or at least in a very meaningful way. However, the readings allowed me to engage the topic in a meaningful way, which, in turn, shatter some of my preconceived notion and realize the importance of group dynamics.
My experience in Safe Horizon provides me an opportunity to witness the value of group dynamics in creating positive change. Although most of do not realize it at first, the arts serves as a coping mechanism for many individuals who experience types of oppression directly. For example, Safe Horizon has a group mediator come once a month to speak with the Safe Horizon staff to make sure that we are all able to work together with the clients so that we can cope with the traumatic stories. This group mediator entails twenty minutes of writing, drawing, etc., allowing us to deeply explore concerns that we may bury or not talk about. This activity provides an opportunity for individuals within Safe Horizon to engage with a mechanism—the arts with group dynamics—that often times is neglected. Although I am unable to attend the meetings, many of my co-workers have explained how this experience has allowed the staff to grow closer and build more rapport. While I never really consider the arts as a force in the non-profit world, the arts has been and will continue to serve as a coping mechanism in Safe oHHorizon.
The arts—as demonstrated during class—can also be used to empower individuals who fear speaking up. For instance, a child who experience abuse may feel more comfortable exploring his pain through a poem or song. Along the same line, an individual who experiences depression may channel his dark thoughts through art work. Both of these examples highlight different avenues for individuals to show their pain and attempt to reach larger audiences for helping without directly asking. A great example of the arts to speak about the struggles of a people is the Freedom Theater in Palestine. Professor Waterston and I attended an information session about this particular group in which the one of the directors of the program explained the open dialogue that stemmed from the performances and acts of the individuals in the Theatre.
With this in mind, Andre, do you believe that we should give more resources and responsibility to those individuals in the arts to assist the non-profit sector? In addition, I would interested in attending some of the “Remembering Newton” exhibits at John Jay to see whether the students’ artwork shows certain topics that individuals may be afraid to speak about openly, e.g., walking through their neighborhood and hearing gun shots or coping with the pain of losing a friend to a gun.
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