Abstract
This volume is divided into 10 chapters, originally published as a series of articles in Volume 16, Issue 3 of Sport, Education and Society. The title of the text neatly identifies the core themes explored by the contributors although potential readers must review the content list to gain more detailed insight of the diverse perspectives it explores. While this might put off some readers who enjoy being tempted by the traditional synopsis that back covers tend to provide, this text is worthy of further consideration. The intention behind the volume is to highlight both the need for and the benefits of trans disciplinary study of both pedagogies focussed embodiment, emplacement, enactment and subjectivity … calling for border crossings between the disciplines and perspectives of the social and bio-physical sciences in the interest of better understanding how social and cultural reproduction occurs both within schools and beyond them. (p. 1)
The contributors include a number of senior scholars drawn from a range of disciplines and institutions who offer an original series of articles that consider the social significance of the body in the context of education and society. The result is a thought-provoking exploration of current trends in social construction that suggest life chances are inextricably interwoven with perceptions concerning bodily perfection. In other words, the articles explore the extent to which the body has become a measure of social capital. The inference being that having the wrong or an imperfect body will lead to a life lived confined by societally enforced boundaries. Collectively, the authors consider the ways in which society indoctrinates its members in relation to controlling body and mind in order that they might comply with the required social order, in the name of education. The central arguments focus on the tension and conflict that exist in the relationship between time, place, values and the body as a symbol of socio-cultural influences.
Although the chapters are not sequential and the progression of ideas not immediately obvious, there is a sense of a developing dialogue around the central themes. In particular, I identified that collectively, the authors examine how the transformational potential of the process of learning can be overpowered by an educational system focused on outcome that indoctrinates rather than empowers learners.
The opening chapter, written by the editors, draws the reader in with the promise of much interest in its wide ranging content. Despite the title of the volume and the identified key themes explored, there is an underlying sub-text related to the issue of expectations and boundaries. I would argue that it is these two aspects that facilitate the ‘border crossing’ envisaged by the editors. In essence, the editors propose that the risk of diminishing child, body and self is not one that can be identifiably apportioned across disciplines but is a matter of varying perspective that transcends time and place.
This text encourages its readers to consider a number of articles in the sense of co-constructed understanding, a subtle rather than logical progression of connected ideas relating to the same topic. In turn, this reflects the discrete perspectives of disciplines while emphasising a degree of connectivity between these. This contrasts sharply with existing tendencies to separate and compartmentalise articles into areas of focus, a key feature of formalised curricula. However, as life does not operate in this way, there is an argument that such discrete treatment of the social sciences is both artificial and out-dated. Thus, it is refreshing to see a more varied range of articles linked by an underlying theme rather than discipline. As the editors argue, in the first article, a binary view of the relationship of mind and body does not take sufficient account of ‘the complexity of embodied subjectivity and human endeavour’ (p. 1). Instead, it is suggested that the multi-layered nature of society and how these are interwoven in life must be addressed. In some ways, this text represents a critical articulation of this perspective.
In many ways, the authors offer an uncomfortable view of society. The opening chapters are connected by an underlying theme related to bodily ‘perfection’ as an image to which many aspire as an agreed standard and as a baseline for measurement. For example, in Chapter 2, Kenway and Bullen put forward an interesting argument that this culture has resulted in females seeking to eliminate ‘problems’ that are in fact ‘bodily signifiers of’ individuality (p. 17). According to the authors, this goes beyond social norms to become both self-limiting and damaging. One might consider that the issue of body image as having received sufficient if not excessive coverage. However, the authors move their discussion beyond superficial perceptions to arguments that are less obvious and more challenging, including the significance of embodiment within the supposed neutrality of educational settings. In particular, the text draws the reader in to consider the powerful and emotive forces of society that impact on and mark individuals.
In Chapter 3, Luttrell discusses the need to ‘open up’ opportunities for dialogue restricted by a ‘high-stakes, test-driven educational system that pushes out those who cannot measure up’ (p. 43). Paechter continues in Chapter 4 by offering a view that schools repress natural inclinations to an acceptable level or time. The central argument being that the mind is suppressed through the control of the body: control being notional through social and cultural expectations or by the conditions imposed by formal learning environments, reinforcing the long-standing binary approach.
Bairner’s chapter concerning ‘urban walking and the pedagogies of the street’ offers a view that the pleasure of walking has been eroded by an emphasis on functionality. Thus, inferring that, we are losing a view of learning as the journey travelled as opposed to being the means to reach a destination (an outcome or product). Journeys are another sub-text that connect the chapters and relate to time and place, socially and educationally.
While I found the themes that connected most of the articles sometimes subtle but logical, I initially struggled to understand Pinks’ ‘bull fighting’ article in the context of the text, as a whole. Having returned to this chapter several times, I can see how it offers an interesting perspective on how the body is a part of, not apart from, the environment and the mind, a notion that reflects time and place. In particular, this chapter brings together how the ‘cross-natural flows of people, things, values and images’ represent ‘a complex process of multiple socialization’ (Prout and Hellett, 2003: 2).
To conclude, the text challenges the continued validity of a binary approach and suggests that body image and perceptions are inextricably linked with both identity and the social context of time and place. A particular message is the need for individuals to have a healthy and ethical relationship with their body, as well as their mind. However, the need for liberation and growth through independence, of body and mind, is also explored. This text explores how, in reality, social influences and pressures promote patterns of behaviour that become cultural norms. The reader is challenged to consider the potential of the body as a tool that allows the individual to serve, deny or make peace with the expectations of society, or themselves.
There are no answers in this text, although it does add to our understanding, offering an interesting perspective on the body as a rich landscape. An idea that perhaps extends the concept of Jackson’s (2013) view of the learning ecologies within which we operate. It articulates the struggle to reconcile time, place, body and mind with external influences, personal and ethical motivations. If the intention was to provide a catalyst for thinking about the socio-cultural influences and pressures that shape the learners before us, this has been achieved. Overall, this is a sound platform for further academic debate. Given the inter-disciplinary nature of the articles, it has application across a range of social sciences.