Abstract

This study presents the analysis of the emotions aroused through art and embodied in eight narratives generated by university postgraduate students at two Spanish universities during the 2020-2021 academic year. The contemplation of different artistic manifestations (music, painting, sculpture and poetry) has led to written stories with very diverse emotional expressions through metaphors, symbols and discursive emblems analyzed and categorized in light of the theoretical review around the art-emotions relationship. The results obtained corroborate the ability of art to transmit emotions in adult university students; they show a wide range of emotions, going beyond the basic categories of fear, anger, sadness and happiness established in the literature (Ekman, 1992 and Goleman, 1995); confirm the relevance of art as a tool for self-knowledge and introspection. The methodology used follows a qualitative paradigm of interpretive analysis of narratives, supported by the epistemological bases of hermeneutics and phenomenology. The description and interpretive understanding of human behavior in the individual's own frame of reference is pursued. The interpretational, sociolinguistic and semiological analysis of the discourses have guided the search for latent meanings and symbolic linguistic structures in relation to the emotions experienced, felt or suggested by the participants.

Keywords emotions; art; short stories; therapy; postgraduates