Sound, silence, resonance, and embodiment: choreographic synaesthesia

This article explores the potential of a new conceptualisation of dance spectatorship informed by theories of embodied and enactive cognition. The approach adopted here incorporates the bodily experience and the intellectual processing of information that the dance spectator goes through. This perspective enables a discussion on the intersection of referential elements, spectator’s knowledge and background, and formal properties of the work into the experience that provide a holistic view of the work of dance and its effects through the concept of synaesthesia. Meaning moves, sounds feel, images taste and smell. In order to build this understanding, this particular study makes use of an enquiry into experience and body-environment relationships to approach the multi-modal experience of watching dance. I explore the idea of cross-sensory embodied experience as the base for dance spectatorship. I propose that synaesthesia will be useful in modelling spectatorial experience of dance. Further to this, I contend that although maybe not fully consciously, it is possible that the creative agents—the choreographer-director in this case—already have an understanding of this potential. Through this they manipulate elements within their works until they experience something akin to cross-sensory engagement in themselves. This perspective hence also allows new forms of analysis and understandings of creative work in performance. Through this approach, the article discusses a combination of apparently separate elements and senses in performance, with focus on sound, silence, and resonance through the notion of synaesthesia. Discussion is illustrated and exemplified though analysis of choreographer Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works (2015), which not only expresses ideas, emotions, and sensations through the medium of dance, but demonstrates an understanding of dance as cross-sensory potentiality, able not only to deal with deep thematic elements, but also remain viscerally engaging. Embodied cognition, then, is proposed as the best framework to discuss the spectatorial experience of such work.

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Introduction to the special issue “embodied cognition and education”

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences ◽

10.1007/s11097-020-09714-x ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Evi Agostini ◽

Denis Francesconi

Keyword(s):

Embodied Cognition ◽

Critical Evaluation ◽

Educational Theory ◽

The Body ◽

Educational Systems ◽

Educational Science ◽

Embodied Experience ◽

Special Issue ◽

Enactive Cognition

AbstractThis special issue focuses on the theoretical, empirical and practical integrations between embodied cognition theory (EC) and educational science. The key question is: Can EC constitute a new theoretical framework for educational science and practice? The papers of the special issue support the efforts of those interested in the role of EC in education and in the epistemological convergence of EC and educational science. They deal with a variety of relevant topics in education and offer a focus on the role of the body and embodied experience in learning and educational settings. In conclusion, some further topics are suggested that will need to be investigated in the future, such as a critical evaluation of the possibility for an epistemological alliance between educational theory and embodied cognition, and the contribution that enactive cognition can provide to educational systems, organizations, institutions and policies.

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Linguistic Synaesthesia in Turkish: A Corpus-Based Study of Cross-Modal Directionality

10.31234/osf.io/m48hx ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alper Kumcu

Keyword(s):

Embodied Cognition ◽

Sweet Taste ◽

General Purpose ◽

The Other ◽

Sensory Modalities ◽

Text Types ◽

Taste And Smell ◽

Universal Pattern ◽

Large Corpus

Linguistic synaesthesia (i.e., synaesthetic metaphor, intrafield metaphor or cross-modal metaphor) refers to instances in which expressions in different sensory modalities are combined as in the case of sweet (taste) melody (sound). Ullmann (1957) and later, Williams (1976) were first to show that synaesthetic transfers seem to follow a potentially universal pattern that goes from the lower (i.e., touch, taste and smell) to higher senses (i.e., hearing and sight) but not the other way around (e.g., melodious sweetness) Studies across languages, cultures, domains, and text types presented mixed results as to the universality claim of cross-modal mappings in linguistic synaesthesia (e.g., Jo, 2019; Strik Lievers, 2015; Zhao et al., 2019). To extend results to an underrepresented language and thus, to test the universality of the directionality principle, 5699 cases of linguistic synaesthesia in written and spoken Turkish were investigated using a general-purpose, large corpus. Results show that except for the transfers from smell to hearing which is unidirectional, synaesthetic transfers in Turkish do not comply with the directionality principle in the strictest sense. Although most transfers that follow the canonical direction were also significantly more frequent, there were instances of “backward transfers”. Further, two of the backward transfers (i.e., from smell to touch and from taste to touch) were significantly more frequent than their canonical counterparts (i.e., from touch to smell and from touch to taste). Results are compared against synaesthesia in other languages and discussed in the framework of linguistic universals and embodied cognition. Supplemental materials: https://osf.io/2unvy

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Improvisational Dance as Enactive Cognition: What Do Novice Dancers Teach Us about Embodied Cognition in Dance?

Journal of Dance Education ◽

10.1080/15290824.2021.1957480 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Lindsay Lindberg ◽

Ananda Marin ◽

Zoe Silverman

Keyword(s):

Embodied Cognition ◽

Enactive Cognition

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Chaos and neural coding: Is the binding problem a pseudo-problem?

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x0139009x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 24 (5) ◽

pp. 826-827 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Antonino Raffone ◽

Cees van Leeuwen

Keyword(s):

Neural Coding ◽

Temporal Coding ◽

Binding Problem ◽

Holistic View ◽

Brain Functions ◽

Visual Scenes ◽

Thoughtful Discussion ◽

Formal Properties

Tsuda's article suggests several plausible concepts of neurodynamic representation and processing, with a thoughtful discussion of their neurobiological grounding and formal properties. However, Tsuda's theory leads to a holistic view of brain functions and to the controversial conclusion that the “binding problem” is a pseudo-problem. By contrast, we stress the role of chaotic patterns in solving the binding problem, in terms of flexible temporal coding of visual scenes through graded and intermittent synchrony.

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On The Corporeality Of Atmosphere

10.32920/ryerson.14645370.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Dawn Walker

Keyword(s):

The Body ◽

Embodied Experience ◽

Atmospheric Conditions ◽

Human Environment ◽

Bodily Experience ◽

Built Form ◽

Felt Presence ◽

Innate Ability

Space is a constant inhabited medium which is inseparable from its role as a lived human environment. Both defined and undefined by concrete matter, it possesses an innate ability to envelop the body in deep spatial experiences. These experiences can be intense, even poetic. This naturally felt presence is a profound relationship between body and surrounding; the vehicle for this experience is atmosphere. Atmosphere is the mode of providing experiential space within architecture, feeding one’s presence in their world; without consideration for atmospheric conditions renounces built form void of these experiences. By conceiving architecture through the embodied experience of atmospheres, space can intrinsically permit the body to experience its surrounding. This work is a continuous exploration of designing architecture through its atmosphere; as such, a focus will be redirected back to a bodily experience by activating the innate relationship between atmosphere and the body.

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Deslocamentos ontológicos: multissensorialidade e corporalização na terceira onda das interfaces digitais[Andrea Davidson. Tradução: Maria Albertina Silva Grebler, Diego Pizarro]

REPERTÓRIO ◽

10.9771/r.v0i28.24995 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 11

Author(s):

Andrea Davidson

Keyword(s):

New Media ◽

Embodied Cognition ◽

Third Wave ◽

Sensory Awareness ◽

Bodily Experience ◽

Interactive Performance ◽

Simple Tool ◽

Perceptual Mode ◽

Autonomous Agency

Resumo: Através do exame da ontologia e do lugar da dança digital no espectro da expressão coreográfica contemporânea, este artigo se propõe a considerar a interação e o agenciamento do interoceptivo (somático) e do exteroceptivo (tecnológico) na terceira onda das interfaces digitais para a dança. Ele argumenta que uma ontologia da dança digital pode ser qualificada sumariamente como um modo ativo de experiência sensório-perceptiva capaz de revelar novas dimensões da recepção estética, modos de performatividade e expressões da presença corporal na dança que emergem com/através do corpo mediado. Ele não considera a tecnologia como estrangeira, como um agenciamento autônomo, um sistema ou uma simples ferramenta, mas sim como um meio de estimular a consciência sensória expandida e forjar relações com a experiência corporal somática (interna) do indivíduo. Referindo-se a uma série de trabalhos recentes que estabelecem as condições para tais experiências, considera ainda de que forma os trabalhos digitais desenvolvem e enfatizam a perspectiva como uma estratégia dramatúrgica e estética e, consequentemente, como as novas interfaces de mídia para a dança podem ser consideradas “novos dispositivos de ver-sentir”. Palavras-chave: Dança digital. Corporalização. Performance interativa. Cognição corporalizada. Novos dispositivos de ver-sentir. ONTOLOGICAL SHIFTS: MULTI-SENSORIALITY AND EMBODIMENT IN A THIRD WAVE OF DIGITAL INTERFACESAbstract: Examining the ontology and place of digital dance within the spectrum of contemporary choreographic expression, this article proposes to consider the interweaving of interoceptive (somatic) and exteroceptive (technological) agency in a third wave of digital interfaces for dance. It argues that an ontology of digital dance might be summarily qualified as an active sensory-perceptual mode of experiencing, capable of revealing new dimensions of aesthetic reception, modes of performativity and expressions of corporeal presence in dance that emerge with/through the mediated body. It views technology not as a foreign, autonomous agency, system or simple tool, but rather as a means of stimulating heightened sensory awareness and forging relations with the individual’s somatic (inner) bodily experience. While referencing a range of recent works that establish the conditions for such experiences, it further proposes to consider how digital works develop and underscore perspective as a dramaturgical strategy and aesthetic, and as a consequence, how new media interfaces for dance can be considered ‘new viewing-sensing device’. Keywords: Digital dance. Embodiment. Embodied cognition. Interactive performance. New viewing-sensing devices.

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Beyond the Individual Body

Projections ◽

10.3167/proj.2020.140103 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 18-36

Author(s):

Francesco Sticchi

Keyword(s):

Embodied Cognition ◽

Media Studies ◽

The Body ◽

Enactive Cognition ◽

Central Object ◽

Cognitive Theories ◽

Object Of Study ◽

The Individual ◽

Individual Body ◽

Viewing Experience

AbstractSince the emergence of embodied cognitive theories, there has been an ever-growing interest in the application of these theories to media studies, generating a large number of analyses focusing on the affective and intellectual features of viewers’ participation. The body of the viewer has become the central object of study for film and media scholars, who examine the conceptual physicality of the viewing experience by associating body states with parallel intellectual and moral constructions. In this article, I contribute to the study of embodied cognition and cinema by drawing upon Baruch Spinoza's philosophy, especially from his process-based notion of the body. I will put this ecological and dynamic concept of the body in connection with recent studies on enactive cognition, and define a radical enactivist approach to be applied in the discussion of the experiential dynamics of Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here.

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Researching event-centred projects: Showcasing grounded aesthetics

Qualitative Research ◽

10.1177/1468794121990973 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 146879412199097

Author(s):

Frances Howard

Keyword(s):

Digital Media ◽

Arts Education ◽

Creative Work ◽

Embodied Experience ◽

Research Projects ◽

Public Display ◽

Key Features

Showcasing plays a fundamental role in arts education programmes. This paper presents an approach to research scenarios which explore ‘event-centred’ projects. Drawing on arts-based methodologies and research projects, this approach could be extended to the study of seasonal rituals, festivals and other types of organisational settings in which creative work culminates in some type of public display. This paper defines the key features of this method, which draw on Paul Willis’ concept of ‘grounded aesthetics’ and Sarah Pink’s work on the sensorial and embodied experience. I discuss the experimentation with various digital media and documentation strategies which adopt a participatory and collaborative perspective. I focus on how the sensorial, multimodal and collaborative approaches to ethnography are used within event-centred research projects which complement more ‘traditional’ ethnographic approaches. Finally, this paper offers a methodological contribution regarding how to unpack the ‘grounded aesthetics’ of specific contexts and communities.

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Divine Sensations: Sensory Language and Rhetoric in Bernard of Clairvaux's ‘On Conversion’

Journal of Qur anic Studies ◽

10.3366/jqs.2020.0411 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 51-77

Author(s):

Line Cecilie Engh

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Song Of Songs ◽

Sense Perception ◽

Embodied Experience ◽

Early Christian ◽

Theoretical Assumptions ◽

The Senses ◽

Human Sense ◽

Taste And Smell ◽

Central Claim

What does it mean to speak of God in a sensory language? Christian exegetes in the middle ages were steeped in a Biblical language of visions and voices, not to mention the anthropomorphic and sensual imagery of the Song of Songs. Although they had inherited early Christian theologians' distrust towards human sense perception, medieval preachers and theologians from the twelfth century onwards talked about divinity in metaphorical language that systematically evoked not just seeing and hearing, but also the senses of touch, taste, and smell. This article discusses the wildly imagistic, sensory, and sensual language of the Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux. Focusing on Bernard's sermon ‘On Conversion’ ( De conversione), given in Paris in 1140, I will interrogate the underlying theoretical assumptions in Bernard's rich rhetoric, and his emphasis on the senses. The central claim I make is that in these representations of the divine, embodied experience is both affirmed and negated at the same time. To bring out this point, I will consider why medieval Christian writers such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Peter the Venerable regarded Jewish and Muslim exegetes' ‘carnal’ hermeneutics—and the latter's use of sensual and sensuous imagery to convey conceptions of divine bliss—as radically different from their own approaches.

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Meaning in Our Bodies

10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190280925.001.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Heike Peckruhn

Keyword(s):

Social Status ◽

Lived Experience ◽

Cultural Values ◽

Meaning Making ◽

Religious Studies ◽

Analytical Tool ◽

Embodied Experience ◽

Bodily Experience ◽

Bodily Experiences ◽

The World

What do our everyday experiences and bodily movements have to do with our theological imagination? How should we draw the connection between lived experience and theology? Feminist theologians, as well as other scholars, appeal to the importance of bodily experiences and perceptions when developing claims regarding social and cultural values and argue that our actions are always meaningful. But where and how do these arguments gain traction beyond mere thinking about methods in religious studies or theological exploring of metaphors? Religious scholars and theologians need to acquire a robust grasp on how sensory perceptions and interactions are cultural and theological acts that are bodily meaning making. This book presents a method of tracing embodied experience in order to account for meaning in everyday movements and encounters by strengthening and refining the concept of “experience” through a set of analytical commitments built on Maurice Merlau-Ponty’s phenomenological concepts. The notion of bodily experience is extended to that which makes up our social and theological knowledges. Bodily perceptual experiences are ways of thinking and orienting in the world, therefore comprising theological imagination. This is demonstrated in historical and cultural comparisons where taste, touch, and emitted sounds may order normalcy, social status, or communal belonging. Constructive body theology as analytical tool is tested in feminist projects known for their explicit turn to experience and embodiment (Carter Heyward, Marcella Althaus-Reid). This book concludes with presentations of constructive possibilities that emerge when everyday bodily experience is utilized effectively as a source for religious and theological inquiries.

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