The majority of veterans entering college today have served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Coming from an all-volunteer military, this population has expressed feelings of social isolation and challenges adjusting to the changes in structure outside of the military. For combat veterans, there can be physical and psychological wounds which present additional challenges. Therefore, institutions of higher education are developing programs and services to support veteran’s transition and facilitate their social integration into college. This research studied the individual and social processes of a creative arts workshop for six student veterans at Florida State University. Using qualitative methods from a phenomenological philosophical perspective, this study examines how the workshop facilitated the transition for student veterans and how they interpreted their life experiences through the creative arts. Being a group workshop, symbolic interactionism was used as a conceptual framework in assessing their individual experiences. Military uniforms were reprocessed into pulp and participants learned to make handmade paper from their cloth of personal significance. They also used stencils made from personal images, transferring the image to their paper. Following the workshop, their artwork was publicly exhibited in the university library with a personal statement written by each participant. The participants responded positively to the experience, noting the meaningful connections they made with other student veterans and the personal significance of the work they created. Learning a new craft, expressing themselves creatively, and displaying their work professionally strengthened their self-efficacy and sense of belonging and connection to the university. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2016. / May 31, 2016. / Art Therapy, Group Therapy, Papermaking, Phenomenology, Student Veterans, Symbolic Interactionism / Includes bibliographical references. / Marcia Rosal, Professor Directing Dissertation; Douglas Schrock, University Representative; David Gussak, Committee Member; Jeff Broome, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_366094 |
| Contributors | McMackin, Meredith Lin (authoraut), Rosal, Marcia L. (professor directing dissertation), Schrock, Douglas P. (university representative), Gussak, David (committee member), Broome, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lynn) (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Fine Arts (degree granting college), Department of Art Education (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (183 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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