Writings of Healing and Resistance: Empathy and the Imagination-Intellect

by Mary E. Weems

Overview

Writings of Healing and Resistance: Empathy and the Imagination-Intellect is a multi-authored, interdisciplinary journey. It continues the work started in Public Education and the Imagination-Intellect (Peter Lang, 2003) by extending the importance of empathy in developing an action-based social consciousness. Mary E. Weems doesn’t argue for a specific way of pursuing an empathy connected to mind, body, and spirit: She acknowledges that just as artists work in various media, each with their own process for sharing how they think and feel about a particular topic or moment, each individual may arrive in their own way at a deep, spiritual, close identification with the experiences of the other. Writings of Healing and Resistance encompasses a variety of forms: autoethnography, ethnodrama, poetic inquiry, and critical essay, as well as scholars’ work in a number of disciplines including communications, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, educational leadership, African American studies, and cultural foundations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433112096
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	10/31/2012
Series:	Cultural Critique Series
Pages:	166
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Mary E. Weems is a poet, playwright, performer, imagination-intellect theorist and Social Foundations scholar of urban education working in interpretive methods.

Table of Contents

Contents: Norman K. Denzin: Introduction: Hope, Pedagogy and the Imagination-Intellect – Mary E. Weems: One Love: Empathy and the Imagination-Intellect – Susan V. Iverson: A Space for Imagination: The Power of Group Process and Reflective Writing to Cultivate Empathy for Self and Others – Mitra Emad: Anarchic Thinking in Acupuncture’s Origins: The Body as a Site for Cultivating Imagination-Intellect – Dominique C. Hill: Call and Response: Writing to Answer the Urge of a Bruised Spirit – Elyse Pineau: The Kindness of [Medical] Strangers: An Ethnopoetic Account of Embodiment, Empathy, and Engagement – Amira Davis: The Poetics of Black Mother-Womanhood – Mary E. Weems: Stop in the Name of: An Auto/ethnographic Response to Violence against Black Women – Norman K. Denzin: A Telephone Call – Durrell Callier: Tell It: A Contemporary Chorale for Black Youth Voices – Akil Houston: Tasseography as a Healing Practice: Education in a Post-Racial Classroom – Mary E. Weems: What Does It Mean to Be a Nigger in the Academy? – Marcelo Diversi/Claudio Moreira: Migrant Stories: Searching for Healing in Autoethnographies of Diaspora – Jonathan Wyatt: In Trouble: Desire, Deleuze, and the Middle-Aged Man.

Editorial Reviews

«Weaving the threads of empathy, performance, empowerment, pedagogy, poetry/narrative research, Mary E. Weems has assembled a cloth of vibrant colors and textures. This volume speaks to the power of imagination, thought, enlightenment, and well-being: it enunciates the nuanced depth of words and stories which serve to create a socially just space where resistance and change make the difference. Reading this book provides us an intuitive and aesthetic experience in aesthetic participation and scholarship.» (Shirley R. Steinberg, Werklund Chair of Youth Leadership Education, Professor of Youth Studies, University of Calgary)
«Mary E. Weems challenges us to revisit our stories of pain, struggle, reflection, and healing to develop empathy. Through her comprehensive analysis of what it means to work to interrupt oppression, the pages of this book are essential for those who continue to fight for justice in troubling times.» (David Stovall, PhD, (POSITION?), University of Illinois at Chicago)

«Weaving the threads of empathy, performance, empowerment, pedagogy, poetry/narrative research, Mary E. Weems has assembled a cloth of vibrant colors and textures. This volume speaks to the power of imagination, thought, enlightenment, and well-being: it enunciates the nuanced depth of words and stories which serve to create a socially just space where resistance and change make the difference. Reading this book provides us an intuitive and aesthetic experience in aesthetic participation and scholarship.» (Shirley R. Steinberg, Werklund Chair of Youth Leadership Education, Professor of Youth Studies, University of Calgary)
«Mary E. Weems challenges us to revisit our stories of pain, struggle, reflection, and healing to develop empathy. Through her comprehensive analysis of what it means to work to interrupt oppression, the pages of this book are essential for those who continue to fight for justice in troubling times.» (David Stovall, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago)
"[In Writings of Healing and Resistance: Empathy and the Imagination-Intellect] Mary Weems and coauthors present a compelling argument regarding the need for those who engage in social justice work. They encourage us to deepen our awareness of self and others, immerse oneself and others in a healing process, and resist injustice. Authors urge us to consider how to support each other in further developing social and self-consciousness. As educators, we have a moral responsibility to foster difficult dialogues, encourage students to take risks, and cultivate a shared consciousness centered on ways of knowing, responding, questioning, and affecting positive social change. It is through this powerful awakening, individuals confront and challenge themselves to deepen their understanding of personal beliefs, values, and actions taken, especially for those who live on the margins. Authors emphasize the need to move beyond dialogue, honor diversity, and actively participate in democracy in an effort to interrupt oppressive practices and promote a more humane society.» (Christa Boske, Program Coordinator, Associate Professor, Kent State University)

From the Publisher