Topic: Embodied Learning: Lessons from the Gym and Beyond
Abstract: What can we learn from the gym, sports, or life in mental institutions? What kinds of cultural and linguistic lessons emerge in spaces we don’t consider centers of education? We often think of language as a cognitive process and learning as sitting at a desk listening. My 20 years of anthropological research suggests that learning is an embodied process, linking movement with cognition, emotion, and culture. Based on research in various communities focused on self transformation and the application of my research findings to the classroom at Brooklyn College, of the City University of New York, I discuss the value of physical practices in the process of cultural, linguistic, and higher education.