Knowing Bodies, Moving Minds

Body: Bodies of Knowledge and Knowledges of the Body A- Cognition and the Body: Perspectives of Music Education A- Somaesthetics and Education: Exploring the Terrain A- Embodied Movement Knowledge in Fitness and Exercise Education A- The Changing Body in Southern Africaa "A Perspective from Ethnomusicology A- Frog Boy and the American Monkey: The Body in Japanese Early Schooling A- The Disappearance of The Body in Early Childhood education A- Dancing the Curriculum: Exploring the Body and Movement in Elementary Schools A- My Body/Myself: Lessons from Dance Education A- The Instructable Body: Student Bodies From Classrooms to Prisons A- The Apprenticeship of Embodied Knowledge in a Taiko Drumming Ensemble A- Embodied Knowledge: Possibilities and Constrains in Arts Education and Curriculum A- Exercise: Identity Collage According to Bresler, "Embodiment can be defined as the a ~integration of the physical or biological body and the phenomenal or experiential bodya ].a (TM)" As this word is so useful in the field of dance education, it is also critical to define what we mean by embodiment. This volume expands on those definitions from these multiple perspectives. On some levels each chapter in this volume repeats the same definitions of embodiment, yet each author adds a new dimension or way to consider embodiment by entering thediscussion from a new perspective. The result is a rich and multi-layered description that can be used and applied in different contexts. The sub-text of mind/body is treated in many different ways. The most quotable is: "The body is minded, the mind is embodied, and both body and mind are culturally-mediated." Many chapters in this book are not appropriate for the undergraduate student, but several selected chapters can be used within that curriculum. This volume is best suited for graduate students who are research directed and seeking grounding and context for their research ideas. Many aspects can be used as advocacy as they continually make a case for embodiment within the curriculum. Overall there are many specific courses that would benefit from this book, or it can be used as a general reference. In any regard, no dance education curriculum should be without it. Reviewed by Susan R. Koff, Ed.D.