School of Humanities

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https://hdl.handle.net/1911/21840

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Browsing School of Humanities by Subject "aesthetics"

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    For the love and respect of the service: Applied aesthetics and palliative care
    (Scientific Research, 2013) Brennan, Marcia
    In this article, the author discusses her experiences as an artist in residence in the Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Emphasis is placed on applied aesthetics in palliative care and their implications for addressing communication, spiritual, and health care issues for military service members. Drawing on six vivid case studies, the author examines the various ways in which end of life narratives can shed valuable light on key issues concerning individualsﾒ life experiences in the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force. These cherished images strengthened peopleﾒs spirits at the end of life, and each of the men told their stories with pride.
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    Four Butterflies: End of Life Stories of Transition and Transformation
    (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2012) Brennan, Marcia
    In this article, the author discusses her experiences as an Artist In Residence in the Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Emphasis is placed on the ways in which end of life images and narratives often unfold in the fragile yet powerful space where conceptions of aesthetics and spirituality intersect with critical issues in the medical humanities. Drawing on four vivid case studies, the author examines the ways in which end of life narratives shed valuable light on conceptions of the subtlety of human embodiment; issues of violation, sorrow, and forgiveness; the mystical dimensions of traditional cultural beliefs; and the capacity for perceiving the natural world as a living symbol of grace. In so doing, she explores how the themes of transition and transformation become invested with meaningful existential and symbolic dimensions in artworks that give voice and presence to some of the most vulnerable, and often invisible, members of our societyﾗpeople at the end of life.