Embodied Inquiry

Research Methods

Jennifer Leigh, Nicole Brown

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781350118782
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

Embodied inquiry is the process of using embodied approaches in order to study, explore or investigate a topic. But what does it actually mean to be 'embodied'? This book explores why and how we use our bodies in order to research, what an embodied approach brings to a research project, and the kinds of considerations that need to be taken into account to research in this way. We all have bodies, feelings, emotions and experiences that affect the questions we are interested in, the ways in which we choose to approach finding out the answers to those questions, and the patterns we see in the data we gather as a result. Embodied Inquiry foregrounds these questions of positionality and reflexivity in research. It considers how a project or study may be designed to take these into account and why multimodal and creative approaches to research may be used to capture embodied experiences. The book offers insights into how to analyse the types of data emerging from embodied inquiries, and the ethical considerations that are important to consider. Accounting for the interdisciplinary nature of the field, this book has been written to be a concise primer into Embodied Inquiry for research students, scholars and practitioners alike.

Chapter 1

What is Embodied Inquiry?

Introduction

Embodied Inquiry as a phrase is being used more frequently across research. Whereas once it might have been limited to fields and disciplines such as drama, physical education, dance or sport, this is no longer the case. But what does Embodied Inquiry mean? It is more than a development of qualitative research or an exact method that can be applied to a project, to make something pedestrian more exciting. Instead, it is an approach to the whole research process, or any part of the research process. Embodied Inquiry encourages us to use different methods and lenses in order to collect data and analyse embodied, lived experiences. It is not tied to any one theoretical approach, and yet, it is not atheoretical.

We both come from slightly different theoretical and practical understandings of embodiment. Whilst we are both from education, Nicole is a teacher, teacher educator and sociologist; Jennifer has a background in science and is a qualified yoga teacher and registered somatic movement therapist. As a consequence, Jennifer draws deeply on her training and experience in yoga and Authentic Movement, and a philosophical phenomenological perspective in order to inform her research practice and understanding of Embodied Inquiry. Nicole, by contrast, has long viewed her body as a tool, which she uses to model best practices within the context of initial teacher education.

Three Principles of Embodied Inquiry

Embodied Inquiry relies on and actively applies three foundational principles, which have been adapted from the principles of somatic movement (Leigh, 2012):

The first principle sets out the ‘What?’ of Embodied Inquiry. Any Embodied Inquiry is part of an ongoing process of self. It asks for reflexivity, an exploration, attention to and non-judgemental awareness of self in addition to attention, exploration and non-judgemental awareness of others’ experiences. Awareness of every movement and moment is a skill that can be learned and practised. It is likely to impact on life outside of the research study.

The second principle answers ‘Why?’. The starting point is that the body and mind are connected. By accessing the information, data and stories that bodies store, hold and tell, it is possible to reach deeper, emotional and authentic truths about lived experience than are accessed by more conventional research techniques.

The ‘How?’ of an Embodied Inquiry is through conscious awareness, or the intention to incorporate this way of working into research. Not each Embodied Inquiry will look the same, nor will it necessarily feel the same for the researcher or participant. However, each Embodied Inquiry will either have explicitly defined these principles or at least implicitly adhere to them.

We will return to these in Chapter 7. In this book we will ask: What kind of research does Embodied Inquiry imply? What does it look like? What theoretical perspectives can be used? How might a researcher interested in Embodied Inquiry go about collecting, analysing and disseminating data? We will give an overview of what Embodied Inquiry might look like. We will introduce case studies of how we have used it in our own research to investigate academic identity and illness experiences and to capture embodied learning experiences with dancers. Drawing from our own research experience means that we are not using examples from all disciplines. We are aware that we do not refer to performance for example, even though this is a forum where Embodied Inquiry can be used. Instead, we offer practical guidance as to how Embodied Inquiry might inform, or be included in, research. We consider what it means in terms of designing research, collecting and analysing data, as well as the issues and challenges that can be associated with this type of work.

Embodiment and the Body in Focus

Conducting Embodied Inquiry does not mean that we have to take a particular theoretical or methodological perspective. There are many theoretical understandings and justifications for such work. This is best exemplified in Leigh (2019a), where fourteen academics from different theoretical backgrounds come into conversation about how their understandings of embodiment have impacted their teaching research and practice. All the work collected there could be termed Embodied Inquiry. Whilst all research should explicitly or implicitly be coherent with a theoretical frame, and though Embodied Inquiry needs to be conducted within a frame that allows for the possibility and importance of knowledge created from, by and within our bodies and minds, it does not mandate a particular theoretical approach. Particular methodologies and theoretical approaches are more naturally aligned to Embodied Inquiry. For example, in rhythmanalysis (Lefevbre, 2004; Lyon, 2019), and feminist and post-humanist theoretical perspectives (Barad, 2007), there can be an emphasis on embodied and sensory experiences. These interests in turn lend themselves to more creative or arts-based approaches, as Embodied Inquiry can draw on these as we will see in Chapter 5; however, it is not exclusively an arts-based approach. Research from this perspective may be researcher-orientated and internal such as practice by research (Trimingham, 2002) or practice as research (Spatz, 2020); it may explicitly focus on those practices or arts that look to increase self-awareness such as martial arts (Bowman, 2019), draw on a specific theorist such as Bourdieu (Pickard, 2007) or be concerned with complex issues such as identity in the developing world (Rajan-Rankin, 2018). Whatever the subject or framing, Embodied Inquiry will ask the researcher to be aware of their own experiences and positionality.

Using this Book

We all have bodies, feelings, emotions and experiences that affect the questions, we are interested in, the way in which we choose to approach finding out the answers to those questions and the patterns we see in the data we gather as a result. Embodied Inquiry foregrounds these questions of positionality and reflexivity in research. We have taken the decision to order this book much as we would approach an in-person workshop. After a quick overview of the history of Embodied Inquiry in both Western and non-Western contexts, we take a much more practical approach. We consider how you might design a proj ect or study, and why you might choose to use multimodal and creative approaches to research in order to capture embodied experiences. We look at how you might analyse the types of data emerging from Embodied Inquiries, as well as the ethical considerations that are important to consider. Finally, we return to the three principles of Embodied Inquiry set out here, and look at what is, and what is not, Embodied Inquiry, before looking to the future.

As such, this book offers a critical and practical insight into Embodied Inquiry, the forms it might take, the value it might add to research and the considerations that need to be taken if Embodied Inquiry is employed as a research approach. We draw on our experiences as academics, movement therapists, educators and active researchers using embodied and creative methods in order to provide a succinct guide to and explanation of this innovative and exciting approach to research. Our perspective may seem Western-centric, because it reflects who we are, our backgrounds and what we have done. We have aimed this book at undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers on a wide variety of courses and programmes, including sociology, education, disability studies, dance, performance, health studies, sport and exercise science, linguistics and drama: those who are interested in Embodied Inquiry generally, and those who are planning to undertake Embodied Inquiry. This approach speaks to all those interested in using qualitative research methods. It would also be useful for those on specific research methods courses for undergraduate or postgraduate students who are interested in creative and embodied approaches to research. It is not limited to social scientists, or arts-based researchers. It further supports those using practice as research as part of their postgraduate study at a Masters or Doctoral level in dance, drama, music or the arts.

The rest of this book is set out to consider why we might want to use Embodied Inquiry, and the benefits of this inclusive research approach. It is organized as follows:

Chapter 2 introduces a broad range of embodied explorations including discourses on the body, and movement practices that range from the therapeutic to the aesthetic. We draw examples from the East and the West and include psychotherapeutic movement-based approaches. Some may be familiar, whilst others may be new; all can be used to increase conscious self-awareness of the body, and the information that arises from the body.

Chapter 3 focuses on the foundational principles of Embodied Inquiry and practical aspects of how to design research for or to include aspects of Embodied Inquiry. We look at the types of questions and contexts where Embodied Inquiry may be applied – thus the research foci of the lived experience, the researcher’s body in the field, bodies as communicators and the body in interaction. We show how Embodied Inquiry draws on phenomenology, hermeneutics, the cornerstones of human understanding and multimodality, which all underpin Embodied Inquiry. We conclude Chapter 3 with brief considerations on the role of reflexivity and the benefits of Embodied Inquiry.

Chapter 4 considers data within Embodied Inquiry and what role data collection, gathering and construction play. We outline how creative approaches to research can capture the multimodal aspects of Embodied Inquiry. Drawing on our own research projects, we present some different examples of creative research methods of the vast range available of arts-based practices, audio-visual modes of data capture and co-creation of knowledge and data.

Chapter 5 homes in to discuss how we might analyse the data produced within Embodied Inquiry. Again, we use practical examples to look at how different analytical approaches such as thematic, narrative and creative frames might add to the understanding of our research questions. Research in this way is an iterative process, as our reactions to our data will change as we change and are informed by our analytic journey. We conclude this chapter with an outline of how it is possible to ensure good quality within Embodied Inquiry.

In Chapter 6 we discuss issues and challenges of Embodied Inquiry, which include ownership of data when it is co-created, axiological issues that go beyond ethics processes such as how we can ensure our research is not exploitative, particularly when we are working with sensitive topics, and groups of participants who might be considered vulnerable due to their age, capacity or experience of trauma.

Chapter 7 considers the place of Embodied Inquiry, its validity and where it sits when determining rigour in research methods. We return to the three principles of Embodied Inquiry, and discuss what research might not be termed such. We look towards the future, and think about how Embodied Inquiry may be further advanced as a research approach.

Chapter 2

An Overview of Embodied Inquiry

Introduction

In this chapter we give an introduction to a broad range of embodied explorations and techniques. We include movement approaches from the East and the West, and an overview of psychotherapeutic movement approaches. Whilst an Eastern approach to the mind/body connection can be a foundation and framework for Embodied Inquiry, and offer useful methods to cultivate awareness of the self and the information that arises from the body, it is not the only approach that can be taken. In Chapter 3 we will discuss more conventional philosophical approaches such as phenomenology, and what we set out here can be seen as an alternative, or complementary, perspective. All these approaches will share (implicitly or explicitly) the three principles of Embodied Inquiry set out in Chapter 1.

Discourses on the Body

‘Embodied’ and ‘embodiment’ are contentious words (Sheets-Johnstone, 2015) that are understood and used in different ways. For example, from early classical sociology, the body was an ‘absent presence’ (Shilling, 2012, p. 21). The body was present as an entity central to the sociological imagination because humans are bodies, and being human is inextricably linked with embodiment and embodied experiences such as language or emotions. These sociologists would say that everything we do is embodied because we have meaty, fleshy, breathy bodies that carry us around the world. This would mean then that all research is Embodied Inquiry, because we are using our bodies in order to undertake it. However, the body was absent, in that it was not necessarily the primary focus of thinking and research. This does not automatically privilege or foreground what originates from the body. This sociological understanding of embodied, whilst pushing back against the idea that can be traced back through Descartes to Plato that the body is inferior to and separate from the mind (Plato, 2009), can still objectify the body. The body is seen as a thing, a living breathing container, through which we experience the world.

Other sociological theorists position the body as an explicit focus in relation to the concept of identity formation, recognizing the interconnected relationship between body and mind (Beck et al., 1994). The body is no longer seen as a mere vessel containing the human being. It shapes identity, and as such is a project involving development and improvement. In this context, the term ‘embodied’ is used to mean how we represent ourselves within and to the world around us, and how we might perform bodily modifications and transformations. This might be through our clothes; through ‘disciplining’ our body through exercise such as weightlifting and ballet; or through modifications such as tattoos, piercings or hairstyles so that we portray our identity by means of an outward expression of an inner sense. Through these expressions we show how we belong, or do not belong, to the society we find ourselves in. The body is described as a canvas, upon which individuals paint their personal identity. Bodies can be imperfect or broken (Oakley, 207). It is no longer enough to have a slim, symmetrical and beautiful body; we use surgical implants and medical solutions to allow our bodies to be super- and supra-human. The body is modified and moulded to fit specific purposes in society; it has become an entity of physical capital (Bourdieu, 2013/1984, 1986). Within social theory this corporeal realist perspective has come to be predominant. It places the body as a location for the transmission of societal and cultural norms and traditions, as a location for the lived experience and the recreation of society and culture (Shilling, 2012). The body is not experienced in isolation or in a vacuum of embodiment, but relates to and is related to the individua...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Series
• Title
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Author bios
• Series Editor Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• 1 What is Embodied Inquiry?
• 2 An Overview of Embodied Inquiry
• 3 Designing for Embodied Inquiry
• 4 Data in Embodied Inquiry
• 5 Analysis in Embodied Inquiry
• 6 Issues and Challenges of Embodied Inquiry
• 7 Embodied Inquiry Now and in the Future
• References
• Index
• Copyright