Ethnography of corporeality: A carnal move in educational technology research
British Journal of Educational Technology
Published online on May 06, 2015
Abstract
Despite the increasing focus on non‐dualistic and materialist approaches in education technology studies, the materiality of the body has not been adequately examined. Because of the heavy orientation towards affordance, interaction, participation, inclusion and access at the interface or between various spatial and liminal settings, the subject's body has been addressed and analysed as a non‐corporeal construct, primarily at an abstract, theoretical or textual level. This paper intends to complement existing research by proposing a carnal move that would enact an ethnography of corporeality. It will do so by doing two things: first, by drawing from Don Ihde's human–technology relations to foreground the body in technology use; and secondly, by adapting Marcel Mauss's conceptualisation of body techniques for a carnal methodological move in investigating technology‐enhanced learning and digital literacies.