Applying the Embodied Pedagogy of Body Mapping Methodology in the Graduate Sociology Classroom as a form of Individual and Collective Healing

Informed by arts-based, embodied pedagogies, this article highlights the ways in which body mapping methodology was used in a graduate-level arts-based research class in sociology. This course focused on applying various arts-based research approaches to teaching and learning, with an emphasis on how the arts in education can be used for individual and collective healing, specifically after the global trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article illuminates the artwork, voices, and experiences of the instructor and graduate students as we share the purpose, process, and products of a body mapping workshop. We detail the artistic process, what the body maps represent, and the ways in which the arts-based assignment served as a form of individual and collective healing. Concluding thoughts discuss the strengths, limitations, and possibilities of using body mapping methodology for teaching and learning about ourselves and others.