SHUM 4646 - Moving and Knowing

(crosslisted) ANTHR 4146, STS 4646

Spring. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Enrollment limited to: 15 students. Co-meets with ANTHR 7146/SHUM 6646/STS 6646.

R. Prentice.

A martial artist learns movements and quirks unique to his teacher. A dancer conveys unbearable sorrow with a curve of her back. An artist’s charcoal flies across the page. Horse and rider make a pirouette in perfect balance. This course emerges from the idea that we know our worlds through movement. Using texts drawn from anthropology, philosophy, sensory studies, science studies, and animal studies, this course pushes against any simple division of mind and body by examining balance, kinesthesia, and proprioception as often-neglected means of knowing our worlds. It also critiques the static and fixed nature of “rational-centric” thinking, considering how the movement energy of living beings challenges and disrupts division, separation and stabilization. For longer description and instructor bio, visit societyhumanities.as.cornell.edu/courses