Embodied Cognition in Observational Amateur Astronomy

Abstract

We investigate the embodied cognitive practices of amateur astronomers, as they engage in observational routines in the field. In particular, we take an “interactionist” perspective to the problem and address the question: How is the body used as a resource for practical, conceptual, and communicative purposes in the process of planning, searching for, and sighting celestial objects? The basis for our analysis is a set of ethnographic video and field note records collected over several years of fieldwork. We scrutinize the moment-by-moment interactions among practitioners for episodes in which different modalities of embodied action are recruited and coordinated to produce and communicate complex meanings in the practice. As a whole, therefore, we seek to empower learners—as the ICLS 2016 calls for—by bringing insight into foundational aspects of knowing and learning.