Freshman/Sophomore Seminar – The Life of the Mind: Language and Movement

What is the “life of the mind”? How do we learn nowadays? What do we do with ourselves in the university? at our desks? in the classroom? Do the ways we sit or breathe or type or speak, for instance, relate to how we learn? How do repetition and habit come into play? How might paying attention to what we do when we move help us study or work? How does one learn to learn otherwise?In this half-studio, half-discussion class, students will be led through weekly “awareness-through-movement” lessons drawn from the Feldenkrais Method (R). The lessons invite reflection on the questions above. Students will be asked to do short homework assignments and to keep a journal. No background in Rhetoric, performance, or formal movement training is required. Seeking open-minded, curious participants, who are committed to an in-person experience (barring unforeseen circumstances).

Faculty Bio: Marianne Constable is Professor of Rhetoric, specializing in legal discourse. She was the first holder of the campus Zaffaroni Family Chair in Undergraduate Education (2009-14) and has won several mentoring and other awards. She has practiced Tai Chi since 1986 and, attracted to the theme of “learning to learn,” became certified in the Feldenkrais Method (R) in 2005.

Seminar website: will be on bCourses

Faculty website: https://rhetoric.berkeley.edu/people/marianne-constable-1/

Note: students who are enrolled and do not attend will be dropped in favor of students who do attend.