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An Ecofeminist Vision ~ Aesthetic, Embodied, and Connected Learning Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Fall 2018 The Exertion of a Choice: An Ecofeminist Vision ~ Aesthetic, Embodied, and Connected Learning Sharon M. Eswine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, and the Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons Recommended Citation Eswine, S.M. (2018). The exertion of a choice: An ecofeminist vision ~ aesthetic, embodied, and connected learning. (Doctoral Dissertation). This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EXERTION OF A CHOICE: AN ECOFEMINIST VISION ~ AESTHETIC, EMBODIED, AND CONNECTED LEARNING by SHARON MUSE ESWINE (Under the Direction of Delores Liston) ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I build upon Darwin’s (1859/1964) metaphor of the complex biological tangle of a river bank - plants, birds, insects, and earth - to paint a picture of transformative learning as aesthetic (Dewey, 1934/2005; Eisner, 1998, 2002b; Greene, 1995, 2001; Liston, 2001), and embodied (Dewey, 1958; Johnson, 2007; Shusterman, 2006), and thereby connected to the learner’s life experience, including his/her/their ecological, cultural, and historic situatedness. I call this complication of Darwin’s metaphor the ecofeminist tangled bank. For my purposes, an ecofeminist theoretical framework provides a means of analyzing oppressive conceptual frameworks that perpetuate hierarchy and domination, and which lack an appreciation for meaningful difference (Chircop, 2008). Such oppressive frameworks, I argue, characterize much about the current approach to learning. Transformative learning, or learning which leaves the individual changed, seeing the world differently than before, and “willing to act in accordance with those differences” (Girod, Twyman, & Wojcikiewicz, 2010, p. 804), may be fostered through aesthetic learning. Investigating the impact of aesthetic learning experience (Dewey, 1934/2005; Eisner, 1998, 2002b; Greene, 1995, 2001; Liston, 2001), I theorize that such experiences inscribe themselves on the body, becoming the impetus for the individual’s passionate desires (Garrison, 1997). Ultimately, I paint a picture of learning as the subjective “exertion of a choice” (Darwin, 1871). INDEX WORDS: Learning, Aesthetics, Embodiment, Ecofeminism, Neuroaesthetics, Metaphor, Body-mind, Feminism THE EXERTION OF A CHOICE: AN ECOFEMINIST VISION ~ AESTHETIC, EMBODIED, AND CONNECTED LEARNING by SHARON MUSE ESWINE B. S., Auburn University, 1981 M.Ed., Georgia Southern University, 1991 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA © 2018 SHARON MUSE ESWINE All Rights Reserved 1 THE EXERTION OF A CHOICE: AN ECOFEMINIST VISION ~ AESTHETIC, EMBODIED, AND CONNECTED LEARNING by SHARON MUSE ESWINE Major Professor: Delores Liston Committee: Ming Fang He Daniel Chapman William Schubert Electronic Version Approved: December 2018 2 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my husband Bill and my daughter Augusta who gave me encouragement and support throughout my doctoral journey, and who KNEW that I could do it – even when my own confidence flagged. I also want to thank all the students I have taught over the past 36 years. This dissertation is the result of my experiences with you --- it represents what you have shown me. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am forever grateful to my dissertation committee for the encouragement that each gave me throughout this process: ~ To my chair, Dr. Delores Liston, you helped me chart my direction and embrace my own artistic way of approaching dissertation writing, and your work created a springboard for my thoughts. ~ To Dr. Ming Fang He, you recognized that I like to tell stories and encouraged me to include a story at the beginning of each chapter. ~ To Dr. Daniel Chapman you pointed out the irony of splitting the head from the body even as I emphasized their connection. ~ To Dr. William Schubert, your insights, suggestions, and praise were invaluable to me throughout this process. You have each given me a great gift – thank you! 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………..…..…………………………..…..………... 3 PREFACE………………………………………………..…..……………………………. 6 CHAPTER 1 IDEAS OF THE BEAUTIFUL DEFINING THE AESTHETIC……………… 16 Historical Grounding of the Aesthetic………………….…….……. 27 The Nature of Pleasure and Beauty in the Aesthetic.…………....… 22 A Feminist Aesthetic…………………………….………………… 24 Aesthetics in Education…………………………….……….…..… 26 John Dewey………………………………………………... 26 Maxine Greene……………………………………..…..…...31 Elliot Eisner.…………………………………....…….…..... 33 Final Thoughts………………….……………………………......… 47 2 INVESTIGATING AESTHETIC LEARNING EXPERIENCES………….51 Learning and Knowing……………………………………………...52 The Field of Aesthetic Learning………………………………….…67 Contexts of Aesthetic Learning Experiences………………….…. 68 Qualities of Aesthetic Learning Experiences…………………….… 74 Final Thoughts.…………………………………………………… 77 3 AN ECOFEMINIST THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK……….…………. 83 Early Ecofeminism………………………………….……….……. 85 An Overview of Ecofeminism…………………………………….. 88 Ecofeminism and Intersectionality ………………….…… 93 Ecowomanism…………………………………………….. 96 Criticisms of Ecofeminism………………………………… 98 Oppressive Conceptual Frameworks………………………….… 100 The Domination of Nature………………………….…..... 100 The Logic of Domination ………………………….……… 102 Framing an Ecofeminist Theology……………………………….....104 Framing an Ecofeminist Epistemology……………………….…… 110 A Framework for Learning………………………….…..… 111 Ecofeminism and Embodied Learning……………………...115 Final Thoughts…………………………………………………… 116 4 THE BODY-MIND: AN ECOFEMININST PERSPECTIVE………..…… 118 The Knowing Body…………………………………..…………… 122 Embodied Learning…………………………..…………… 126 Embodied Expression…………………………..………… 131 The Invisible Body……………………………………..……….… 134 The Body-Mind………………………………………..……………136 The Metaphoric Conceptual System…………………..……….… 142 Final Thoughts………………………………………….………… 145 5 CRITIQUING MIND OVER BODY: AN ECOFEMINIST PERSPECTIVE………………………………………………………..……150 Neuroaesthetics…………………………………………......……… 153 5 Trauma in the Body-Mind…………………………………..………160 Aesthetic Learning Experiences as a Means of Healing…..…..……165 Final Thoughts………………………………………………………176 6 PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER: AN ECOFEMINIST VISION OF LEARNING AS AESTHETIC, EMBODIED, AND CONNECTED……… 179 The Ecofeminist Tangled Bank…………………………………… 188 Humans and Nature…………………………………………189 Inter-Human Interaction…………………………………… 191 Intra-Human Interaction……………………….……………194 Implications for Education and Learning………………………… 195 Interventions……………………………………………… 203 A Curriculum of Aesthetic, Embodied, and Connected Learning…………………………………………..……. 207 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………..……...… 210 6 PREFACE "Courage, pugnacity, perseverance, strength and size of body, weapons of all kinds, musical organs, both vocal and instrumental, bright colors, stripes and marks, and ornamental appendages, have all been indirectly gained ... through the influence of love and jealousy, through the appreciation of the beautiful ... and through the exertion of a choice." Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871, pp. 794-795). In many ways, this dissertation represents a reflection on the educational experiences that have shaped my self-understanding as well as my conception of what constitutes meaningful learning. Within this process, my students, teaching colleagues, professors, and the many writers listed in my references comprised my learning community (Liston, 2001; Palmer, 2007). At the outset, I reflected on the story, which I share at the beginning of chapter one, of my student, who came to understand abstract expressionism by doing abstract expressionism; I realized I found it very moving to witness the moment when the pieces came together for him. As I observed, such learning transforms the individual, enabling him or her to see the world differently than before and to act on those differences (Girod, Twyman, and Wojcikiewicz, 2010). I argue that transformative learning is aesthetic, embodied, and connected to the learner’s previous experience. I entered the conversation around transformative learning through the door of aesthetic experience and John Dewey’s (1934/2005) ideas of an experience. From there, Greene (1995, 2001), Eisner (1998, 2002b) and Liston (2001) helped me situate aesthetic learning within curriculum studies. Realizing that patriarchy’s inherent oppositional hierarchy prevents a complete understanding of learning, my ‘heart’ then suggested that ecofeminism, which has always resonated with me, provides a powerful means of critiquing patriarchy and therefore, it 7 provides a robust framework to support my thoughts on learning. Therefore, rather than beginning with my theoretical framework, my readers will note, my initial thoughts and readings suggested ecofeminism to me. The threads I create in each chapter, weave together in chapter six where I propose a new conceptual metaphor that I entitle, the ecofeminist tangled bank, a complication of Darwin’s (1859/1964) biotic tangle
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