This interdisciplinary thesis examines the role of dance/movement in training programmes, which address peace, violence, conflict and trauma. Despite the growing literature and scholarly interest in embodied practices, few training programmes address dance/movement peace explicitly, identify shared beliefs or make connections between movement behaviour and decision-making. The research questions explore how dance/movement trainers experience, implement and conceptualise embodied processes that enable the transformation of conflict, particularly concerning interpersonal and/or intergroup violence. In order to investigate this question, an 'internal' analysis of relations and practices amongst its practitioners progresses to an 'external' analysis of contributions to arts-based peace practices and peacebuilding. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced trainers working internationally who use artistic, therapeutic and educational approaches to peace practices. The practitioners' curricula and training materials were examined using thematic analysis and qualitative analysis software (NVivo). The data analysis results in a map of shared beliefs, positionality and boundary shifts amongst the respondents, and proposes an exploration of practices applicable to multiple settings and client groups. This thesis presents new research in Communities of Practice (CoP) theory with artistic communities. It also deepens previous research on dance/movement peace practices and movement analysis, which sustains peaceable and violent actions can be understood through conscious and/or unconscious movement decision-making processes. The thesis concludes that embodied processes involve reflexive and enactive interventions, and proposes analyses of spatial relations, symbolic enactment and relational nonverbal interactions as key contributions of dance/movement. These embodied processes challenge 'conventional' forms of knowledge transmission and the arts' constant pressure for legitimisation. The thematic exploration of shared practices and beliefs therefore integrates movement analysis and social theory to present an interdisciplinary contribution to embodied analyses of violence.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:683450 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Acaron Rios, Thania |
| Contributors | Gimlin, Debra ; Zalewski, Marysia |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=229434 |
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