How can the expressive arts triage the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and police brutality on Black children and teens living in systemically under-served communities in Washtenaw County? This Engaged Learning course will focus on how the expressive arts are applied as a healing tool in response to the traumas that may have been experienced by school-age youth, whilst recognizing their resilience and strength. Students are offered opportunities to engage with children and youth in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor through an internship with the community-based program, Telling It.

In class and in community, students will learn how expressive art forms and artists apply their disciplines using racially and culturally respectful and sensitive pedagogies. They will examine the impact of traumatic circumstances and events on the healthy development of the brain and body and their amelioration using age-appropriate methods that are playful, creative and pay attention to healing and social emotional learning.