Workshop by Laura Lehtinen, Sanna Tirkkonen & Elsa Heikkilä:Corporeal Sociology – Acknowledging class background through corporeal research

How does class origin manifest in one’s corporeality and movement? What is the texture of class, and is it tangible? Do I find traces of class in my body?The workshop demonstrates methods and approaches of the independent artistic research project called My Blue-collar Body, the aim of which is to make “corporeal sociology”, let the (dancing) body speak about experiences of class, that are not entirely graspable through verbalization. The work includes moving, perceiving, reflecting as well as writing. We deal with bodily traces and manifestations of class origin to generate new understanding, perception and knowledge about influences of (hidden) power relations and class hierarchies in society. We use personal memories and experiences as our research material and i.e. “Authentic Movement” method to let the bodily knowledge rise above verbalized class matters. The workshop is open for everybody willing to work on class matters through corporeal approaches. We are willing to discuss about the contents of the workshop.