The Social Transmission of Bodily Knowledge

Kelly Underman

doi:10.1177/1357034X221103944

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The Social Transmission of Bodily Knowledge

Journal article

Peer reviewed

The Social Transmission of Bodily Knowledge

Kelly Underman

Body & society, v 28(3)

Sep 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X221103944

Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

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Abstract

phenomenology

expert

sociology

exercise

body techniques

embodiment

reflexivity

Literature on bodily habit has often emphasised the inculcation of new bodily skills and embodied ways of being in practice. However, recent work demonstrates that skilled experts do focus on the body, its sensuous information, and engage in conscious and deliberate forms of bodily awareness during the performance of bodily skills. In this article, I present data from interviews with barbell coaches (CrossFit, powerlifting, and Olympic weightlifting) and yoga teachers in order to explore the social transmission of bodily knowledge. I analyse accounts from these experts about the techniques and approaches they use to teach bodily skills, focusing on objective, subjective, and intersubjective strategies. I argue that while bodily knowledge is difficult to articulate, its fundamentally social basis means that it can be translated through coordinated activities and shaped by social processes. I thus advance literature on bodily knowledge by accounting for deliberation and reflexivity in learning bodily skills.