Nine Ways of Seeing a Body (Paperback)

Sandra Reeve

ISBN 10: 1908009322 / ISBN 13: 9781908009326

Published by Triarchy Press, Bridport, 2011

About this Item

Paperback. We're used to recognizing that people have different ideas of what constitutes a nation, an organisation, one's self, etc. But the human body? Surely that's a more solid and tangible thing? In fact, people in different cultures and at different times in history, have held radically different ideas about the body. Understanding these differences is an essential step for anyone trying to understand different approaches to medicine, dance, theatre, psychotherapy, sex and ecology.This book presents nine lenses through which the body is conventionally viewed: The body as object (Descartes' approach, linked to modern, Western individualism and as usually viewed by Western, allopathic medicine); the body as subject (with reference to physical theatre and the work of directors and writers like Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski and Eugenio Barba); the phenomenological body (the view that the body holds its own meaning - this is the idea of the 'lived' body as discussed by Husserl and Merleau-Ponty, amongst others); the somatic body (familiar to Feldenkrais, Body-Mind Centering and somatics practitioners); the contextual body (paying attention to self-reflection and self-awareness in the context of the body's surroundings - here are the beginnings of ecopsychology); and, the interdependent body (as reflected by matching, guiding and kinetic mirroring in movement work and by the growing field of kinaesthetic empathy).The environmental body (as discussed by Maturana and Varela's Santiago theory of cognition; this approach looks at incorporated habits and the effect of moving in nature); the cultural body (here there is an awareness of culturally specific, daily-life movement and close links with Csordas' view of embodiment); the ecological body (drawing on Suryodarmo's Amerta Movement, on Buddhist mindfulness and on notions of 'interbeing'. An awareness of being 'among' rather than 'at the centre of'. Dr Sandra Reeve's groundbreaking approach to the ecological body and ecological movement matches emerging developments in design thinking and ecological thinking. People in different cultures and at different times in history, have held radically different ideas about the body. Understanding these differences is an essential step for anyone trying to understand different approaches to medicine, dance, theatre, psychotherapy, sex and ecology. This book presents nine lenses through which the body is viewed. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781908009326

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Nine Ways of Seeing a Body (Paperback)
• Publisher: Triarchy Press, Bridport
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908009322
• ISBN 13: 9781908009326
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

This book presents nine lenses through which the body is conventionally viewed. The body as object, the body as subject, the phenomenological body, the contextual body, the interdependent body, the environmental body, the cultural body and, finally, the ecological body. Designed to be a guide and stimulus for teachers, students and practitioners of dance, performance, movement, somatics and the arts therapies - and for anyone troubled by the idea of a brain on legs.

About the Author

Dr. Sandra Reeve is a movement teacher, artist, director and movement psychotherapist, offering therapy and supervision in private practice. She lives in West Dorset. Since 1999, she has taught an annual programme of autobiographical and environmental movement workshops called Move into Life(R) and she creates occasional, small-scale ecological performances. She is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Exeter, where she lectures in Performance and Ecology.