Abstract
The purpose of this article is to show the waysin which education can be centered on the bodyas the subject of experience, rather thanas an object or an absent entity. Pedagogicalpractices that emphasize a conscious awarenessof embodiment provide opportunities forstudents to learn in a holistic manner. Sincethe body is the way in which we experience theworld, mediating all processes of learning, allexperience is therefore embodied (Levin, 1985). Recognizing the body as subject of being ratherthan as object acknowledges that beneath theattempts to separate aspects of our being,which often occurs in educational settings,there exists an underlying, unified being thatis not subject to separation (Welton, 1998).
The bodies of girls have traditionally beenrelegated to absent entities within thelearning environment, including in physicaleducation. A meaningful education, one thatembraces embodiment, would balance differenttypes of learning experiences, so that thevarious aspects of being are all considered andblended. Such a holistic approach to schoolingwould occur by providing an environment inwhich the needs of all students are valuedthrough efforts that defy the culturalstereotypes and preconceptions of the largersociety.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ayto, J.: 1990, Dictionary of Word Origins, Arcade, New York.
Bruner, J.: 1986, Actual Minds, Possible Worlds, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Casey, E.S.: 1993, Getting Back into Place: Toward a Renewed Understanding of the Place-world, Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
Cothran, D.J. and Ennis, C.D.: 1997, 'Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Conflict and Power', Teacher and Teacher Education 13, 541-553.
Csordas, T.J.: 1999, 'Embodiment and Cultural Phenomenology', in G. Weiss and H.F. Haber (eds.), Perspectives on Embodiment: The Intersections of Nature and Culture, Routledge, New York, pp. 143-162.
Dewar, A.M.: 1990, 'Oppression and Privilege in Physical Education: Struggles in the Negotiation of Gender in a University Programme', in D. Kirk and R. Tinning (eds.), Physical Education, Curriculum and Culture: Critical Issues in the Contemporary Crisis, Falmer Press, London, pp. 43-66.
Doll, W.E.: 1984, 'Developing Competence', in E.C. Short (ed.), Competence: Inquiries into its Meaning and Acquisition in Educational Settings, University Press of America, Lanham, MD, pp. 23-138.
Ennis, C.D., Cothran, D.J., Davidson, K.S., Loftus, S.J., Owens, L., Swanson, L. and Hopsicker, P.: 1997, 'Implementing Curriculum within a Context of Fear and Disengagement', Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 17, 58-72.
Foucault, M.: 1979, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (A. Sheridan, trans.), Vintage, New York.
Fox, K.R. (ed.): 1997, The Physical Self: From Motivation to Well-being, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
Gadamer, H-G.:1960/1998, Truth and Method (J. Weinshimer and D.G. Marshall, trans.), Continuum, New York.
Grosz, E.: 1994, Volatile Bodies, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN.
Hadreas, P.: 1986, In Place of the Flawed Diamond: An Investigation ofMerleau-Ponty's Philosophy, Peter Lang, New York.
Hargreaves, J.: 1994, Sporting Females: Critical Issues in the History and Sociology of Women's Sports, Routledge, New York.
Haywood, K.: 1986, Life Span Motor Development, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
Heidegger, M.: 1927/1962, Being and Time, (J. Macquarrie and E. Robinson, trans.), Harper & Row, New York.
Heidegger, M.: 1979, Neitzsche (D. Krell, trans.), Harper, San Francisco.
Hopkins, R.L.: 1994, Narrative Schooling: Experiential Learning and the Transformation of American Education, Teachers College Press, New York.
Hultgren, F.: 1989, 'Introduction to Interpretive Inquiry', in F.H. Hultgren and D.L. Coomer (eds.), Alternative Modes of Inquiry in Home Economics Research (Yearbook 9), Glencoe, Peoria, IL.
Husserl, E.: 1989, Ideas, II (R. Rojcewicz and A. Schurwer, trans.), Dordrecht, Kluwer.
Johnson, M.: 1987, The Body in the Mind, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Kreighbaum, E. and Barthels, K.M.: 1996, Biomechanics: A Qualitative Approach for Studying Human Movement, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M.: 1999, Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought, Basic Books, New York.
Leder, D.: 1990, The Absent Body, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Lee, J.: 1994, Writing From the Body: For Writers, Artists, and Dreamers Who Long to Free Your Voice, St. Martin's Press, New York.
Levin, D.M.: 1985, The Body's Recollection of Being: Phenomenological Psychology and the Deconstruction of Nihilism, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
Lingis, A.: 1994, Foreign Bodies, Routledge, New York.
Lohrey, A.: 1997, The Meaning of Consciousness, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Lorde, A.: 1984, 'Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference', in A. Lorde (ed.), Sister Outsider, Crossing Press, Trumansburg, NY, pp. 114-123.
Mallin, S.B.: 1979, Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Martin, A.: 1980, Competencies-Titling, Credentialing: Entry into Practice, Unpublished Manuscript.
Merleau-Ponty, M. 1945/1968, The Visible and the Invisible (A. Lingus, trans.), Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL.
Merleau-Ponty, M.: 1960/1998, Signs, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
Merleau-Ponty, M.: 1962/1998, Phenomenology of Perception (C. Smith, trans.), Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
National Association for Sport and Physical Education: 1995, Moving Into the Future: National Standards for Physical Education, Mosby, St. Louis, MO.
Nelson, G.L.: 1994, Writing and Being: Taking Back Our Lives Through the Power of Language, Innisfree Press, Philadelphia.
Noddings, N.: 1984, 'Competence in Teaching: A Linguistic Analysis', in E.C. Short (ed.), Competence: Inquiries into Its Meaning and Acquisition in Educational Settings, University Press of America, Lanham, MD.
Payne, V.G. and Isaacs, L.D.: 1999, Human Motor Development: A Lifespan Approach, Mayfield, Mountain View, CA.
Pereault, J.: 1995, Writing Selves: Contemporary Feminist Autography, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Random House Webster's College Dictionary: 1999, Random House, New York.
Ross, S.D.: 1998, The Gift of Touch: Embodying the Good, State University of New York Press, Albany.
Satina, B., Solmon, M. A., Cothran, D.J., Loftus, S.J. and Stockin-Davidson, K.: 1998, 'Patriarchal Consciousness: Middle School Students' and Teachers' Perspectives of Motivational Practices', Sport, Education and Society 3, 181-200.
Scraton, S.: 1992, Shaping Up to Womanhood: Gender and Girls' Physical Education, Open University Press, Buckingham.
Smith, S.J.: 1992, 'Physically Remembering Childhood', Phenomenology + Pedagogy 10, 85-106.
Spinoza, B.D.: 1951, A Political Treatise (R.H.M. Elwes, trans.), Dover, New York.
Spinoza, B.D.: 1988, Collected Works of Spinoza, Vol. 1 (E. Curley, ed. and trans.), Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Tiemersma, D.: 1989, Body Schema and Body Image: An Interdisciplinary and Philosophical Study, Swets and Zeitlinger, Amsterdam.
Van Manen, M.: 1990, Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for an Action Sensitive Pedagogy, State University of New York Press, Albany.
Webster's Dictionary: 1972, Random House, New York.
Welton, D. (ed.): 1998, Body and Flesh: A Philosophical Reader, Blackwell, Malden, MA.
Welton, D.: 1999, The Body: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Blackwell, Malden, MA.
Wright, J.: 1997, 'The Construction of Gendered Contexts in Single Sex and Co-educational Physical Education Lessons', Sport, Education and Society 2, 55-72.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Satina, B., Hultgren, F. The Absent Body of Girls Made Visible: Embodiment as the Focus in Education. Studies in Philosophy and Education 20, 521–534 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012286500997
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012286500997