This paper discusses possible correspondences between neuroscientific findings and phenomenologically informed methodologies in the investigation of kinesthetic empathy in watching dance. Interest in phenomenology has recently increased in cognitive science (Gallagher and Zahavi 2008 ) and dance scholars have recently contributed important new insights into the use of phenomenology in dance studies (e.g. Legrand and Ravn (Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 8(3):389–408, 2009 ); Parviainen (Dance Research Journal 34(1):11–26, 2002 ); Rothfield (Topoi 24:43–53, 2005 )). In vision research, coherent neural (...) mechanisms for perceptual phenomena were uncovered, thus supporting correlation of phenomenology and neurophysiology Spillmann (Vision Research 49(12):1507–1521, 2009 ). Correspondingly, correlating subjects’ neurophysiological data with qualitative responses has been proposed as a means to research the human brain in the study of consciousness (Gallagher and Zahavi 2008 ), with similar issues in clinical psychology Mishara (Current Opinion in Psychiatry 20(6):559–569, 2007 ) and biology Kosslyn et al. (American Psychologist 57:341–351, 2002 ). Yet the relationship between neuroscience and qualitative research informed by phenomenology remains problematic. How qualitative research normally handles subjective experiences is difficult to reconcile with standard statistical analysis of objective data. Recent technological developments in cognitive neuroscience have inspired a number of researchers to use more naturalistic stimuli, outside the laboratory environment, such as dance, thereby perhaps helping to open up the cognitive sciences to more phenomenologically informed approaches. A question central to our research, addressed here, is how the phenomenal experiences of a dance audience member, as accessed by qualitative research methods, can be related to underlying neurophysiological events. We outline below some methodological challenges encountered in relating audiences’ first-person accounts of watching live dance performance to neurophysiological evidence of their experiences. (shrink)

Students often find themselves disconnected from foundations courses such as Philosophy of Education, citing the abstract nature of some of the ideas studied and a perceived disconnect from practical issues. Moreover, the place/space of the university classroom itself can be seen to contribute to students? disengagement and stunting of their critical capacities. In this article, we present two intertwined narratives. In one strand, we describe our attempt to secure our students? engagement in our course, Introduction to Philosophy of Education, as (...) well as remedy the forms of interaction that are called out of a university classroom through our employment of what we termed the pedagogical spaces project. This project is built upon the notion of a situated pedagogy and emphasizes a performative stance for students. We present a description of the pedagogical steps undertaken. Intertwined with the first narrative, we also present a mapping of how our very understanding of our project and its goals evolved. Theoretical grounding for our project occurs through theorists such as Howard Cannatella, David A. Gruenewald, John Martin, Harold Rugg, Augusto Boal, Martin Buber, and Mikhail Bakthin. Utilizing excerpts from student self-evaluations, final essays, and insights from theorists such as Megan Boler, we illustrate the ways in which students were able to holistically engage in critical and situated thought about familiar and dominant images of teaching and learning. (shrink)