Embodied Learning
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts
The undergraduate program aims to develop the inherent capacity of the whole person and to nurture lifelong skills necessary for living a fulfilling and good life. Complementing the other nine strands, the Embodied Learning strand focuses on cultivating a sensitivity for direct knowledge through engagement with a wide range of modalities of human expression and experience. It invites students to explore the aesthetic, kinesthetic, and applied dimensions of the liberal arts, and nurture a sensibility for the fresh perspectives, meanings, and insights these domains can enliven.
Music is the means by which the sage stirs heaven and earth, moves the spirits, shepherds the multitudes, and perfects the myriad things.
An embodied learning approach combines classroom learning with embodied experiences, aiming for an integrated mind-body, cognitive-emotional training. The reading of classical texts in seminar courses is enhanced by exercises that activate innate capacities for an expanded way of ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing.’ These activities encourage students to become more aware, attentive, and attuned to things as they are and as they might be in three primary modes of existence: personal, social, and in relation to the natural world. This approach specifically defines the education of the ‘whole person,’ incorporating hands-on, heads-on, and hearts-on learning.
See sample embodied learning activities from Fall 2024.
The curriculum includes six semesters of 1-unit Embodied Learning courses throughout the first three years of the BA program. The classes include monthly meetings of shared inquiry discussions on primary texts drawn from the classical traditions on the topic of embodied learning. Students will also participate in embodied learning laboratory activities, selecting from a list of programs offered in music, arts, and physical exercises. They will reflect on how their embodied learning activities support their studies and integrate with their broader liberal arts education at DRBU.