Dissertation Title:

City of Soul: Activist Artists’ Responses to Hurricane Katrina

Candidate:

Melissa Kate McIntosh

Date, Time & Place:

April 8, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Studio, Lambert Road campus


Abstract

The purpose of this thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2013) dissertation was to explore the process by which activist artists engaged the community of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina through art projects. Methods of inquiry included phenomenological reflection on data elicited by investigation of activist artists’ experiences in relation to these art projects. The results of the study highlighted distinct strategies for engaging a post-disaster community through the arts. Specifically, four major themes emerged through data analysis: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Engaging Post-Disaster Communities Through Art, Cultural Arts as a Tool for Healing After a Disaster, Art as an Essential Component of Revitalizing Post-Disaster Community, and Artist as Cultural Worker. The results pointed to the need for cultural arts practices as vital contributions to recovery in disaster-affected communities as well as effectiveness of such interventions.

Note

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Details
  • Program/Track/Year: Clinical Psychology, Track A, 2012
  • Chair: Dr. Oksana Yakushko
  • Reader: Dr. Douglas Thomas
  • External Reader: Dr. Julia Foulkes
  • Keywords: Activist Artist, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Disaster Mental Health