Learning, Becoming, Embodying: A Review of Embodiment in an Era of Learning with Contemporary Media

Abstract

In recent times, there exists an increasing interest in the concept of embodiment in all disciplines dealing with knowledge and intelligent behaviour, especially that of the learning sciences. While embodiment has often been used in its simplest form, i.e. ‘intelligence requires a body’ (Weigmann 2012), there now exist deeper issues concerning the complex interplay between problems of physical-virtual embodiment, complexities of the environment, and the principles of neural development within today’s evolved culture of participation where more and more students communicate, interact, and socialise through immersive new media environments, represented by avatars. This chapter looks at the major conceptual developments in embodiment research from the works of ancient philosopher Aristotle to contemporary roboticist Moravec, positing that the current state of embodiment research reverberates of dichotomised conceptualisations of natural states vis-à-vis artificial forms of embodiment. Against this binary backdrop, concepts of autopoiesis and allopoiesis are reconceptualised in the context of twenty-first century media, pointing to the need for a new theoretical understanding of embodying. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the pedagogical possibilities in this realm of new media and learning where conventional constraints of embodiment are challenged, advocating the need for educators to devise creative pedagogical approaches that work with these new articulations.