Abstract:What every body knows: Embodied information in serious leisure
AbstractPurpose: The aim of this conceptual paper is to reconsider the role of the body in information in serious leisure by reviewing the potential to theorise the role of the body in information behaviour within serious leisure by drawing on practice theory, phenomenology, sensory studies and embodied cognitionexisting work in information behaviour that theorises the role of the body, and by drawing selectively on literature from beyond informati… Show more
“…Practice theory has been cited and employed as a theoretical frame by a number of authors in the LIS field (for example, Cox et al, ; Lloyd, ; Olsson, ; Pilerot, ; Savolainen, ). These works draw from first‐wave interests (Bourdieu, ; Giddens, ) and second‐wave, which feature both ontological approaches (Schatzki, ; Kemmis & Grootenboer, ; Reckwitz, 2002) and epistemological approaches (Feldman & Orlikowski, ; Gherardi, , ; Lave & Wenger, ; Nicolini, ).…”
Section: Literature Reviewmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The relationship between leisure studies and the embodied experience is highlighted by Cox, Griffin, and Hartel (, pp. 386–387) in their review of existing information studies:A focus on written sources reflects the origins of information studies in the provision of information through libraries and digital repositories.…”
A study of enthusiast car restorers is used to illustrate how an information practice approach can provide information science researchers with a richer, more nuanced understanding of the complex interrelationship between people, technology, and information. An ethnographic approach incorporating both semistructured interviews and in the garage ethnographic observation was employed. Analysis was undertaken using an inductive, thematic approach. The findings demonstrate that participants' information environments are rich and complex. Participants' accounts emphasized the corporeal and embodied nature of the restoration process, and this may account for why they privileged the social networks they had developed, often over many decades, over online resources and communities. The findings indicate that participants are engaged in much more than applied problem solving. What is also evident is that engagement in the social world of car restoration, and the networks of social knowledge sharing it affords, is significant for the emotional support it provides for older men who often lose these networks later in life. In a sense, the participants are not only rebuilding their cars but also their own sense of self.
“…Practice theory has been cited and employed as a theoretical frame by a number of authors in the LIS field (for example, Cox et al, ; Lloyd, ; Olsson, ; Pilerot, ; Savolainen, ). These works draw from first‐wave interests (Bourdieu, ; Giddens, ) and second‐wave, which feature both ontological approaches (Schatzki, ; Kemmis & Grootenboer, ; Reckwitz, 2002) and epistemological approaches (Feldman & Orlikowski, ; Gherardi, , ; Lave & Wenger, ; Nicolini, ).…”
Section: Literature Reviewmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The relationship between leisure studies and the embodied experience is highlighted by Cox, Griffin, and Hartel (, pp. 386–387) in their review of existing information studies:A focus on written sources reflects the origins of information studies in the provision of information through libraries and digital repositories.…”
A study of enthusiast car restorers is used to illustrate how an information practice approach can provide information science researchers with a richer, more nuanced understanding of the complex interrelationship between people, technology, and information. An ethnographic approach incorporating both semistructured interviews and in the garage ethnographic observation was employed. Analysis was undertaken using an inductive, thematic approach. The findings demonstrate that participants' information environments are rich and complex. Participants' accounts emphasized the corporeal and embodied nature of the restoration process, and this may account for why they privileged the social networks they had developed, often over many decades, over online resources and communities. The findings indicate that participants are engaged in much more than applied problem solving. What is also evident is that engagement in the social world of car restoration, and the networks of social knowledge sharing it affords, is significant for the emotional support it provides for older men who often lose these networks later in life. In a sense, the participants are not only rebuilding their cars but also their own sense of self.
“…Revived interest in the foundations of Information Science such as the nature of information and the body (see Lloyd, ; Lueg, ; and, Cox, Griffin, & Hartel, , for recent work in this area) and neo‐documentation—where experiential and phenomenological perspectives are gaining a home (see Gorichanaz & Latham, )—indicates the timeliness of this discussion into epistemology. Philosophy and Cognitive Science offer numerous perspectives on the subject, as do anthropological and fine arts disciplines such as Dance Theory, Ethnomusicology, and Ethnochoreology.…”
Recent and emerging viewpoints in embodiment and knowledge necessitate a reexamination of epistemology within and beyond the brain. Taking a sociocultural approach, this article covers two main types of epistemology beyond the brain, namely, embodied epistemology and nonindividualist epistemology. Using citizen science and music to illustrate related concepts of intuition, experience, and embodiment, this article describes intuition as a cultural system, beyond a purely individual possession. We describe how-in cultural practices such as musicintuition acts as mediator between knowledge and embodiment, and intuition is built and modified by experience over time. Building on Dick's (1999) notion of "holistic perspectivism," we pose a holistic epistemology approach that embraces knowledge that extends well beyond the purely cognitive, in both embodied situations and systemic manifestations. As information research becomes increasingly interested in the role of the body and its relationship to information, knowledge, intuition, and memory, we argue that such an approach will uncover further dimensions of nonindividualist, systemic, and embodied knowledge.
“…Yet to date, such a re-evaluation has only been reflected in a rather limited way in IS (Lloyd, 2010;Cox, Griffin and Hartel 2017). This is not altogether surprising given IS's starting point in the study of library users and the information behaviour of academics and scientists and its deep engagement with the study of the supposedly disembodied "virtual" experiences of the internet.…”
This review paper examines some of the main theoretical influences prompting a reappreciation of the importance of the body and how it may be conceived as relevant to Information Studies (IS). It starts by placing this increased recognition of the body in its historical and social context. It then examines, in turn, how the body is viewed in the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty; practice theory; embodied cognition; and sensory studies. Existing and potential influences in Information Studies are discussed. Most work that reexamines the place of the body reflects the influence of Merleau-Ponty, but he has had relatively little direct impact on IS. Practice theory does deal with the body and this has already been picked up quite strongly in IS Work in the area of embodied cognition has the potential to fundamentally change our view of the relation of the mind and the body, and information as an aspect of that. Sensory studies offers a powerful framework for examining the cultural shaping of the senses as a source of information. The implications of the bodily turn for methodology are briefly discussed.
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