Empathy -- Study and teaching

Overview "Theatre education can provide a place of inclusion and understanding, welcoming people from all walks of life. The theatre classroom can promote opportunities for children to celebrate difference and otherness, queerness and diversity. Theatre is used as a tool for empathy development across a variety of fields and disciplines. In order to explore this further, a professional development workshop was crafted, using theatre as a tool to create space for difficult conversations. The goal was...

Overview "I found my way to my thesis topic by starting with a subject that constantly occupies space in my thoughts: impact. I was born with something I call "detrimental empathy." It is a condition in which I have so much empathy for the people and things around me that it impacts my ability to interact with the world. For example, I cannot read or watch the news because if I hear or see something sad, I will cry and obsess over it for days. When I'm driving, I brake for animals in the street no...

Overview "Although there is a great deal of research to support the use of an arts-based curriculum as a tool for teaching empathy, there are few peer-reviewed studies that support the specific application of theatre arts practices in teaching social and emotional skills. Therefore, this project attempts to illustrate the ways in which embodied theatre, in rehearsal, performance and training provides valuable techniques when applied to social and emotional learning. The project is grounded in...