Pedagogy of Death from Theatre Applied as a Group Intervention Tool
Ana Cañas Lerma, Universidad Islas Baleares, Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares (Spain)
Lucía Miranda, The Cross Border, Valladolid, Castilla y León (Spain)
Through applied theatre exercises, the twelve participants in a seminar identified the need for recognition and normalisation of grief and death within the issues to be managed through social intervention and social work with groups. Applied theatre allows one to approach complex problems and vulnerability through play and creativity.
Presentation Description:
Social workers accompany those who are going through the process of the death of significant people or experiencing some grief (due to loss, migration, stages of the life cycle, etc...). In May 2022, the first author invited to participate students of the subject "Processes and Techniques of Group Social Work" at the UIB in a seminar open to society in general, the aim of which was to understand how their life experiences influence or have influenced their awareness of death and its pedagogical consideration to be addressed in the future through socio-educational groups, as future social workers. The 12-hour seminar was facilitated by The Cross Border, a theatre company applied to social intervention, and was funded by the Government of the Balearic Islands. A group of 12 people was formed (seven students, two professors and three people from outside the academic context). Through applied theatre exercises, they concluded the need for recognition and normalization of grief and death within the themes to be addressed from the social and group intervention.
The Cross Border Project (2024). https://thecrossborderproject.com/