Date of Award
Spring 5-19-2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
PHD - Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Expressive Therapies
First Advisor
Robyn Flaum Cruz
Second Advisor
Sidney Trantham
Third Advisor
Maya Corneille
Abstract
This qualitative phenomenological study sought to gain insight into the unique experiences of Black women students who were writing memoir toward the goal of self-definition in a Black feminist learning environment at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). Two teaching methods included personal plot (an extension of expressive writing that offers writing prompts for emotional closure), and biblio-fusion (a combination of expressive writing and bibliotherapy) (Lockhart, 2017a; 2017b). Interviews were conducted with six Black women participants and triangulated against their personal essays and online journal responses. Personal plot, a form of narrative analysis was used to construct paragraphs on what each personal essay was about, and a data driven analysis of narrative was conducted on the online journals and interview transcripts. Findings revealed that participants faced obstacles of racism, and sexism and internalized these oppressions through conforming to stereotypes of Blackness, colorism, sexualization of Black women, and assimilation. To counter these obstacles, participants utilized survival and success strategies. Notable among these strategies was mutual vulnerability with their classmates and their teacher as the catalyst for transcending fears and stereotypes of Blackness. Also notable was healing transformation and intergenerational healing where participants wrote and spoke of re-gifting their new awareness to the next generation. These results bear implications for expressive writing and other expressive therapies, and prompt further inquiry into teaching and research methods that emphasize Black women's ways of learning and healing.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Language
English
Number of Pages
143
Recommended Citation
Lockhart, Zelda, "Mutual Vulnerability and Intergenerational Healing: Black Women HBCU Students Writing Memoir" (2018). Expressive Therapies Dissertations. 52.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_dissertations/52
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Art Therapy Commons, Creative Writing Commons, Educational Methods Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons
Rights
The author owns the copyright to this work.
Comments
Several methods from this dissertation were derived from The Soul of the Full-Length Manuscript, by Zelda Lockhart, 2017. For additional information regarding these methods visit: http://lavensonpressstudios.com/books/