TY - JOUR
T1 - I move like you... But different
T2 - Biopolitics and embodied methodologies
AU - Francombe-Webb, Jessica
AU - Rich, Emma
AU - De Pian, Laura
PY - 2014/9/19
Y1 - 2014/9/19
N2 - Our aim in this article is to throw light on the complexity of the presence of the researcher's body in the context of conducting research on and within biopolitical governance. To do so, we present author body-narratives derived from two separatestudies, both of which explore biopolitics and draw on an embodied methodology. These narratives point toward the corporeal contradictions of being located within a culture of reading and critiquing bodies while realizing the presence of our own physicality. We argue that methodological reflection on the connections between bodies within the research field ought to rest high among the list of things shaping the future of work related to biopolitics or we risk the effacement of the body. We articulate this in two key ways. First, we examine the emplacement of the fleshy bodies of researchers and the individuals we encounter. We offer reflections on the complexities of the emplacement of our researcher bodies in time, space, and place, and advance a politics of reflexivity that sheds light on how we experience, make claims, and speak about embodiment and physical culture. Second, as scholars who seek to disrupt biopolitical forces and attempt to transcend political and disciplinary boundaries, we consider the presence of the body in a process of border crossing. Rather than simply considering border crossing as an exchange of ideas, knowledge, and practices; we explore the ways in which the presence of our sometimes "normative" bodies can seemingly complicate and contradict our political agenda.
AB - Our aim in this article is to throw light on the complexity of the presence of the researcher's body in the context of conducting research on and within biopolitical governance. To do so, we present author body-narratives derived from two separatestudies, both of which explore biopolitics and draw on an embodied methodology. These narratives point toward the corporeal contradictions of being located within a culture of reading and critiquing bodies while realizing the presence of our own physicality. We argue that methodological reflection on the connections between bodies within the research field ought to rest high among the list of things shaping the future of work related to biopolitics or we risk the effacement of the body. We articulate this in two key ways. First, we examine the emplacement of the fleshy bodies of researchers and the individuals we encounter. We offer reflections on the complexities of the emplacement of our researcher bodies in time, space, and place, and advance a politics of reflexivity that sheds light on how we experience, make claims, and speak about embodiment and physical culture. Second, as scholars who seek to disrupt biopolitical forces and attempt to transcend political and disciplinary boundaries, we consider the presence of the body in a process of border crossing. Rather than simply considering border crossing as an exchange of ideas, knowledge, and practices; we explore the ways in which the presence of our sometimes "normative" bodies can seemingly complicate and contradict our political agenda.
KW - Biopolitics
KW - Border crossing
KW - Embodiment
KW - Gender
KW - Obesity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84927727780&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1532708614541891
U2 - 10.1177/1532708614541891
DO - 10.1177/1532708614541891
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84927727780
SN - 1532-7086
VL - 14
SP - 471
EP - 482
JO - Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies
JF - Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies
IS - 5
ER -