When it comes to the body, the professional pedagogical field shows a paradoxical attitude: With regard to sense-oriented school subjects, educational policies tend to underline a close relatedness of body and mind. However, where learning is primarily connected with mental activities and intellectual engagement, the body is rarely assigned an integral role. Discussing the grounding ideologies of this paradox, I will consult phenomenological and enactivist perspectives in order to develop an approach to embodied learning which takes into account both sense-oriented as well as intellectual domains. I will argue that considering the interdependence of body and mind including their situatedness does not only benefit the cultivation of the body and the senses, but also opens up further perspectives for intellectual engagement.
Iris Laner is a full professor of Art Education at the Department of Fine Arts, Art and Craft Education at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She has a background in philosophy and fine arts and takes interest in issues that address the relation of theory and practice. In her research she focuses on phenomenological, deconstructive and poststructuralist perspectives on aesthetics, education, body and gender.
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