Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Title

Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools Conference 2014: The Future of the Discipline

Publisher

ACUADS Publishing

Place of Publication

Melbourne, VIC

School

School of Communications and Arts

RAS ID

20693

Comments

Barstow, C., & Uhlmann, P. (2014). Embodied learning: towards new models for engaging with art within the university. In Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools Conference 2014: The Future of the Discipline. ACUADS, Melbourne. Available here

Abstract

Mark Johnson’s embodied mind thesis (2007) makes a case for aesthetics as being the most important philosophy for the 21st century. If this is the case, then art schools become even more important to the advancement of knowledge; however economic reforms clearly place traditional art schools under enormous pressure. These two points provide a background for considering two ongoing projects as flexible models for embodied learning – the Jimmy Pike Scholarship, which is an annual artist-in- residency programme for Aboriginal artists, and the Third Space Project which is an ongoing International exchange programme between Edith Cowan University and University of Shanghai Science and Technology. Both of these projects provide multiple platforms for dynamic exchange between students and artists, which engage and challenge all participants in new ways. These projects embrace embodied learning through art as a methodology that moves beyond language barriers within the multicultural community of the contemporary university. In this paper we consider something of the imperceptible transference of knowledge that is exchanged through diverse cultural groups interacting with each other while creating art. Importantly, these groups must engage with each and so the learning we focus on happens primarily through social interaction rather than relying on the internet – as such, these models work in opposition to the Massive Open Online Course model (MOOC). We consider how these kinds of projects might provide flexible integrated models, which assert the necessity and vitality of art as an open-learning platform within universities beset by constant change.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License.

Included in

Art Education Commons

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