Bodies of Knowledge

Explore the multiple ways adults learn through their bodies.Embodied or somatic learning is a way of learning that relies onthe body's knowledge. Our most basic form of learning inchildhood is preverbal; however, traditional schooling forces us tocheck our bodies at the door, requiring us to sit at a desk andraise our hands, focusing primarily on cognition to the exclusionof other ways of knowing. By the time we reach adulthood,being in our bodies is a foreign concept and a sourceof discomfort for many of us.This volume challenges the dominant paradigm of how knowledge isconstructed and shared. Embodied learning is examined through avariety of practice contexts, including higher education, communityeducation, health care, and the workplace, and through multiplemethods, including dance, theater, and outdoor experientialeducation.This is 134th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterlyreport series NewDirections for Adult and Continuing Education. Noted forits depth of coverage, it explores issues of common interestto instructors, administrators, counselors, and policymakers in abroad range of adult and continuing education settings, such ascolleges and universities, extension programs, businesses,libraries, and museums.