Learning bodies

Is the body a mere container of learning processes? Or can we, in a productive way, develop an approach to learning that includes learning as a bodily phenomenon?

The authors all work with the development or refinement of theories of ‘learning bodies’, and in this anthology they present the state of the art to anybody with an interest in current scientific discussions about the interplay between body, movement and learning.

A full understanding of learning in all its complexity requires that the body is taken into account – regardless of whether we are dealing with the neurological foundations of learning processes, skill acquisition, mental health and illness, aesthetics or the physical setting where the learning takes place. Body, movement and senses (in short: corporeality), provide the necessary experiences for change and development in relation to life-long learning.

This anthology presents a range of theoretical approaches to learning; neuroscience, psychiatry, sociology, psychology, phenomenology and pedagogy. By presenting this range of approaches, the anthology raises a central question in the philosophy of science: the need for incorporation of different approaches to achieve further insights.

The first section of the book, The learning body, concerns the learning process from a psychological, neuroscience and phenomenological point of view. In part two, The encultured body, gender and aesthetics will be analysed in relation to the body and the community of practice.

The third section, The educated body, sheds light on various aspects of the body in educational contexts and different body-related conditions for learning. The anthology is of particular interest to researchers and students of education, development and psychology, and to those interested in body and movement, both biomedical and the relation to social science and the humanities.