Rethinking the Body as a Humanistic Intervention – Teaching HCI with a Recognition of Multiplicity

Abstract

Over the past decade, the proliferation of embodied interaction based on biosensing technologies and the internet of things (IoT) has increasingly brought academic attention to the humanistic concerns about the usage, the accessibility, and the interpretation of the human body in the form of data. The human body, which has been a rich domain for the exploration of biological mechanics and cultural significance, now is entering a new era when lived bodily experiences can be captured and represented in the abstraction of data. For an educator and practitioner who works with the intersection of body and technology, two pedagogical challenges that one might constantly face are: (1) how to keep a critical position while embracing the novel technologies; (2) how to deal with the tension between the multiplicity of the body discussed in humanities and the universalizing effect of electronic technologies. Particularly, in a country like China proud of her unique body tradition it is impossible to ignore the wider social, cultural and ethical context where the body is embedded. This article is a response to such challenges. By offering thoughts on the importance of introducing the discourse of the body in the humanities into the ever-expanding realm of human-computer interaction (HCI) studies and embodied interaction design in the context of classrooms at a technical university, I would like to argue that bringing the humanistic conversation of the cultural and philosophical diversity of the body into discussion can be a great complement to the HCI curriculum. Students will benefit a lot from the plural perspectives on the body discussed in humanities and get a valuable opportunity to rethink the role that technology plays in relation to the body. I situate this article within the larger picture of Humanistic HCI approaches, aiming at offering a reflexive examination of the renewed and renewing body-technology relations.