Corporeal Consciousness: Embodiment as Means to Enlightenment

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Elan Justice Pavlinich

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of South Florida

Presider Name

Elan Justice Pavlinich

Paper Title 1

Speaking of the Flesh: Embodied Knowledge in Medieval Rhetoric and Pedagogy

Presenter 1 Name

Heather Jennings

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of California-Davis

Paper Title 2

Body Imaging: Material Experience in the Ancrene Wisse

Presenter 2 Name

Christopher Haynes

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Colorado-Boulder

Paper Title 3

Salvation through Bodily Consciousness in Langland's Piers Plowman

Presenter 3 Name

Katie Robison

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Univ. of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Start Date

9-5-2014 3:30 PM

Session Location

Valley I Hadley 101

Description

Contemporary cognitive theory recognizes the importance of the body to cognitive development, consciousness, and creativity, challenging the dualism that permeates Western thought. Medieval narratives that promote rejection of the body in favor of intellectual and spiritual cultivation, however, cannot be easily dismissed or simplified. Despite the scorn received, the body is essential to enlightenment as demonstrated by such key figures as Ælfred, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Chaucer’s myriad characters, and Thomas Hoccleve—to name a few.

The session, “Corporeal Consciousness: Embodiment as Means to Enlightenment” seeks to illuminate the complexities of the body as the site for intellectual creativity and spiritual awakening by identifying evidence of contemporary theories of mind and consciousness within medieval texts and artifacts.

Elan Justice Pavlinich