El clown y el teatro como contenidos de la Educación Física

Al hablar de Educación física, estamos haciendo referencia a una disciplina educativa que como tal incide en la formación de subjetividades, y en este caso en particular, y de manera específica es también, educadora del cuerpo; al cual lo entenderemos como construcción socio-histórica, y por lo tanto cultural. En el marco de dicho posicionamiento, el presente trabajo pretenderá analizar las teorías, discursos y prácticas corporales de la Educación Física, y la influencia de éstas en la construcción de subjetividades y corporalidades. Coincidiendo de ésta manera con una frase del profesor Mariano Giraldes (2008), la cual dice: ?mi cuerpo es...la relación que tengo con él.? También, y desde las nociones estéticas que Nietzsche presenta en su libro ?El origen de la tragedia?, sobre lo que él llamó los instintos apolíneos y dionisíacos, se intentará plantear un nuevo abordaje de las prácticas de la Educación Física. Se realizarán comparaciones analíticas entre determinadas características del instinto apolíneo y su cercanía con la Educación Física tradicional, y la propuesta de una educación física más cercana a ciertas prácticas artísticas como el clown y el teatro, las cuales pueden ser relacionadas con el carácter disruptivo de la estética dionisiaca

El clown y el teatro como contenidos de la Educación Física

Al hablar de Educación física, estamos haciendo referencia a una disciplina educativa que como tal incide en la formación de subjetividades, y en este caso en particular, y de manera específica es también, educadora del cuerpo; al cual lo entenderemos como construcción socio-histórica, y por lo tanto cultural. En el marco de dicho posicionamiento, el presente trabajo pretenderá analizar las teorías, discursos y prácticas corporales de la Educación Física, y la influencia de éstas en la construcción de subjetividades y corporalidades. Coincidiendo de ésta manera con una frase del profesor Mariano Giraldes (2008), la cual dice: ?mi cuerpo es...la relación que tengo con él.? También, y desde las nociones estéticas que Nietzsche presenta en su libro ?El origen de la tragedia?, sobre lo que él llamó los instintos apolíneos y dionisíacos, se intentará plantear un nuevo abordaje de las prácticas de la Educación Física. Se realizarán comparaciones analíticas entre determinadas características del instinto apolíneo y su cercanía con la Educación Física tradicional, y la propuesta de una educación física más cercana a ciertas prácticas artísticas como el clown y el teatro, las cuales pueden ser relacionadas con el carácter disruptivo de la estética dionisiaca

El clown y el teatro como contenidos de la Educación Física

Al hablar de Educación física, estamos haciendo referencia a una disciplina educativa que como tal incide en la formación de subjetividades, y en este caso en particular, y de manera específica es también, educadora del cuerpo; al cual lo entenderemos como construcción socio-histórica, y por lo tanto cultural. En el marco de dicho posicionamiento, el presente trabajo pretenderá analizar las teorías, discursos y prácticas corporales de la Educación Física, y la influencia de éstas en la construcción de subjetividades y corporalidades. Coincidiendo de ésta manera con una frase del profesor Mariano Giraldes (2008), la cual dice: ?mi cuerpo es...la relación que tengo con él.? También, y desde las nociones estéticas que Nietzsche presenta en su libro ?El origen de la tragedia?, sobre lo que él llamó los instintos apolíneos y dionisíacos, se intentará plantear un nuevo abordaje de las prácticas de la Educación Física. Se realizarán comparaciones analíticas entre determinadas características del instinto apolíneo y su cercanía con la Educación Física tradicional, y la propuesta de una educación física más cercana a ciertas prácticas artísticas como el clown y el teatro, las cuales pueden ser relacionadas con el carácter disruptivo de la estética dionisiaca

The Idiosyncratic Body: Contemporary Clown Theory and Practice

Drawing on historical research, personal interviews, performance analysis, and my own embodied experience as a participant-observer in several clown workshops, I explore the diverse historical influences on clown theatre as it is conceived today. I then investigate how the concept of embodied knowledge is reflected in red-nose clown pedagogy. Finally, I argue that through shared embodied knowledge spectators are able to perceive and appreciate the humor of clown theatre in performance. I propose that clown theatre represents a reaction to the eroding personal connections prompted by the so-called information age, and that humor in clown theatre is a revealing index of socio-cultural values, attitudes, dispositions, and concerns.

Female genital mutilation : Australian law, policy and practical challenges for doctors

As long ago as 1994, the Family Law Council accepted it was likely that female genital mutilation (FGM) was being conducted in Australia. In 2010, doctors and hospitals reported that it is being conducted and that they are seeing female patients who have experienced FGM. It is impossible to obtain precise data about the extent to which it is performed in Australia, but data indicates that FGM is a relevant issue for Australian medical practitioners. The medical profession has an interest in this topic because its members may be asked to conduct FGM, advise those considering it, or treat female patients with effects from the practice. This article provides a background on the practice of FGM, explains the relevant Australian law, considers whether the current legal prohibition on FGM is justified, and discusses the practical challenges facing individual practitioners and the profession. To inform further discussions about methods of responding to demand for FGM, reference is made to strategies being promoted in African nations to abolish this cultural practice.

Power of engineering : changing the perceptions of year 9 and 10 female school students towards an engineering career

BACKGROUND The engineering profession in Australia has failed to attract young women for the last decade or so despite all the effort that have gone into promoting engineering as a preferred career choice for girls. It is a missed opportunity for the profession to flourish as a heterogeneous team. Many traditional initiatives and programs have failed to make much impact or at best incremental improvement into attracting and retaining more women in the profession. The reasons why girls and young women in most parts of the world show little interest in engineering haven't changed, despite all the efforts to address them, the issue proposed here in this paper is with the perceptions of engineering in the community and the confidence to pursue it. This gender imbalance is detrimental for the engineering profession, and hence an action-based intervention strategy was devised by the Women in Engineering Qld Chapter of Engineers Australia in 2012 to change the perceptions of school girls by redesigning the engagement strategy and key messages. As a result, the “Power of Engineering Inc” (PoE) was established as a not-for-profit organisation, and is a collaborative effort between government, schools, universities, and industry. This paper examines a case study in changing the perceptions of year 9 and 10 school girls towards an engineering career. PURPOSE To evaluate and determine the effectiveness of an intervention in changing the perceptions of year 9 and 10 school girls about engineering career options, but specifically, “What were their perceptions of engineering before today and have those perceptions changed?” DESIGN/METHOD The inaugural Power of Engineering (PoE) event was held on International Women’s Day, Thursday 8 March 2012 and was attended by 131 high school female students (year 9 and 10) and their teachers. The key message of the day was “engineering gives you the power to change the world”. A questionnaire was conducted with the participating high school female students, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. The survey instrument has not been validated. RESULTS The key to the success of the event was as a result of collaboration between all participants involved and the connection created between government, schools, universities and industry. Of the returned surveys (109 of 131), 91% of girls would now consider a career in engineering and 57% who had not considered engineering before the day would now consider a career in engineering. Data collected found significant numbers of negative and varying perceptions about engineering careers prior to the intervention. CONCLUSIONS The evidence in this research suggests that the intervention assisted in changing the perceptions of year 9 and 10 female school students towards engineering as a career option. Whether this intervention translates into actual career selection and study enrolment is to be determined. In saying this, the evidence suggests that there is a critical and urgent need for earlier interventions prior to students selecting their subjects for year 11 and 12. This intervention could also play its part in increasing the overall pool of students engaged in STEM education.

Studying industrial design : Exploring the experience of female students

Despite a significant increase in the number of women enrolling and graduating from design courses, the reality is that women remain ‘invisible’ in the design profession (Bruce, 1985). Over two decades ago, Bruce and Lewis (1990) argued that women were less likely than men to be designers due to three key gendered hurdles: the completion of a design degree, getting a design job and obtaining success in a design job. This paper focuses specifically on Australian women’s experience of hurdle one: the completion of a design degree, utilising industrial design as a case study. Semi-structured interview questions (exploring issues such as experience in class and the workshop, accessibility of the course and content, types of projects etc) were recorded and transcribed verbatim, with a thematic analysis conducted to better understand women’s experiences in completing their industrial design degree. This paper focuses on one key theme “navigating the design studio”, which comprises of three sub-themes: design skill development, the workshop experience and course evaluation. These findings highlight the need to understand the educational experience to ensure female designers remain motivated and eventually employable.

A Gendered Profession

A Gendered Profession, RIBA Publications, Oct 2016

For a profession that claims to be so concerned with the needs of society, the continuing gender imbalance in architectural education and practice is a difficult subject. Difficult, because it’s been stagnant for some thirty years. This book seeks to change that.
Beyond the profession, the emergence of fourth wave feminism has broken a twenty-year drought in the discourse[1]. A new generation of feminist critique is emerging, characterised by a broader civic commitment, one fuelled by the recognition that time and again, women and minorities have been the first casualties of neo-liberalism.
Whereas after World War II the architectural profession rallied around its obligation to fulfil a social need, today architecture has all but capitulated its absolute servitude to capitalism. Recognising that feminist thinking is a meaningful response to the inequalities of capitalism, A Gendered Profession will be a forum for a discussion about the failure of our profession – one that is so explicitly concerned with the design of inclusive environments – to resolve its own inequalities. Contributions have been sought and responses elicited from all corners of the discipline to propose strategies, attitudes and solutions to this crisis in representation.
At stake is more than just the lack of female representation. Male architects suffer from the same ingrained mechanisms of gender stereotyping, obliged to place professional commitments above those to their family and children. And while three quarters of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual architects report being comfortable about being open about their sexuality in the workplace, that number drops to just sixteen per cent when on the building site.
A Gendered Profession will aim to perform a diagnostic check of the architecture profession from one end of the spectrum to the other. Whereas much has been written on feminism and architecture, the majority is produced exclusively by women. A Gendered Profession has worked hard towards gender parity in both its contributions and editorial structure and therefore does not limit its understanding of gender to an either/or analogue. The chapters featured in the book are written by artists, academics, practitioners and students.
Through its diverse authorship, this book will provide the first ever attempt to move the debate beyond the tradition of gender-partitioned diagnostic or merely critical discourse on the gender and wider inclusivity debate towards something more propositional, actionable and transformative.

An Examination of the factors that shape the subjectivities of female art students in Initial Teacher Training

The school subject of Art and the profession of the primary school teacher are gendered female and both are considered low status within the field of Education and other professional areas of society. A number of sociological studies have examined the impact of gendered socialisation and habitus on females’ career choices and various educational initiatives have been put in place over the years to encourage females to select subjects and/or pursue career paths normally associated with males. Yet Art and primary school teaching continue to be a popular choice with middle class girls. Based on a critical ethnographic study of female BAED Art students, who are training to be primary school teachers, this study is an examination of the many factors, historically and contemporaneously that have shaped and continue to shape the subjectivities of females and frame their aspirations and ambitions. Within this discourse significant aspects of the history of Art and Art Education that have contributed to and influenced the construction of the female artist, and their consequent impact on artistically talented females’ personal identity as artists, are also examined.

Sticking around : why and how some social workers stay in the profession

Although much is known about why social workers leave the profession, much less is known about what enables some social workers to remain working in highly stressful situations for many years and retain a passion for their work. Based on in-depth interviews with six Australian social workers with at least 10 years practice experience, factors associated with retention included self-awareness, a sense of perspective, having a strong professional identity, a sense of humour, the ability to recognise and respond to the emotional impact of the work, clear separation of work and home, and a mental interlude of some intermediate activity between leaving work and arriving home. Whereas previous research has depicted job change as a sign of burnout, for participants in this study changing jobs was regarded as a preventive measure which enabled them to continue in social work.

A Cia. La Mínima e a comicidade no espetáculo A Noite dos Palhaços Mudos

Pós-graduação em Artes - IA

O palhaço pára-quedas: reflexões sobre a arte circense no município de Bauru - SP (Brasil)

This biographical and bibliographical research aimed understanding the circus and its clowns. The origin of the circus is presented taking into account its earliest manifestations in ancient Greece, until the creation of the modern circus in 1970 by Englishman Philip Astley. The clown, who was introduced in 1778 only after the circus has become an essential figure in the show, coming to represent the modern circus. Here, the different types of clowns are presented and their main characteristics are shown as a way to differentiate between them. The difficulties faced by circus companies are pointed, trying to understand the reduction of circus companies. To understand the formation and transformation of the clown in his years at the profession, the Clown Pára-quedas, artist of Bauru / SP was interviewed, their stories help to unravel some of the satisfactions of the profession and the problems faced by circus performers.

Outside in-group and out-group identities? Constructing male solidarity and female exclusion in UK builders’ talk

This article examines the spoken interactions of a group of British construction workers to discover whether it is possible to identify a distinctive ‘builders’ discourse’. Given that builders work for a mostly all-male profession (Curjao, 2006), we ask whether the ways in which male builders converse with each other while ‘on the job’ can be held in any way responsible for the under-representation of women within this major occupational sector in the UK. This article reports on a case study of the conversations of three white, working-class, male builders, which took place while travelling in a truck between different building sites. This forms part of a larger ethnographic study of builders’ discourse in different work locations. The analysis shows that male builders are highly collaborative in constructing narratives of in-group and out-group identities (Duszak, 2002; Tajfel, 1978). Various other male groups are demonized in these conversations: Polish immigrant builders, rude clients and rival builders. However, there is almost no reference to women. The article concludes that women are viewed as so unthreatening to male ascendancy in the building industry that they do not even feature within the ‘out-group’.

Lost and Found? A Parable of the Architect (Male) and the Academic (Female)

The following text captures an interview, conducted over three evenings, between a practicing architect (male) and an architecture academic (female and feminist). This is a conversation between two long-standing friends who did their Part 3 professional exam together more than twenty-five years ago. Since then, they have taken different career paths and lived lives at different paces and in different places. Every so often they meet over coffee to laugh and argue about architecture, bemoan failures, and share successes.

The academic initiated the interview in order to hear an honest and open account of the career experience of a male architect. She hoped that their longstanding friendship would lead to less guarded responses. The answers to the questions were always going to be personally challenging to the interviewer and possibly to their friendship. The interview is a form of ethnographic study: a structured, qualitative process within a long term, immersed context. But when ‘the immersed context’ is a much-valued friendship, it is a precarious action. Nevertheless, for the future of gendered relationships both protagonists accepted the risks.