The body is the physical framework of an animal, dead or alive. It is inclusive of the bones, flesh and organs.
In the Fragments of the European Refugee Criss: Performing Displacement and the Re-Shaping of Greek Identity, Zervou explains that the refugees in Greece who do not speak Greek only have their bodies as their fundamental and “primary expressive instruments” (p.34). Regardless of what language one speaks, the body is something every individual can identify with, as everyone has a body. Subsequently, dance and movement can play a significant role in expressing oneself. The embodied performance of their personal journeys serves as a powerful method of communication and community building.
I have been raised in an environment where verbal articulation of ideas are valued. To view bodies as our “primary expressive instruments” appears so straightforward and natural, yet it fascinates me as to how I constantly viewed verbal language as my primary expressive instrument. It intrigues me that my body, which I always thought was constraining and limited due to its structure, can also be used to transcend boundaries for kinship and unity. I always viewed my body as a barrier, but the discussions we have in class and this text allows me to see it as one of the most powerful, unifying tools we have. I feel upset that I have not given my body the credit and appreciation it deserves, I take so much of it for granted.
Hi Lubnah,
You are writing that we all share the fact of being embodied. What is interesting is the body’s value as an expressive medium to communicate how we experience the world and connect to others. If we return to the Agamben chapter – he writes that bodies in the camps are managed as “bare life” – as subjects whose minimal requirements to exist are managed, but not allowed to transgress those limits. But a body can do more — through dance, gesture, touch – to remain connected and social even as it is terribly marginalized. Your final paragraph is even more interesting because you ostensibly have recourse to both your body and mind – and yet the body is marginalized and devalued too in most educational circumstances and in political economies. But the body has the capacity to change social circumstances and undo harmful discursive categories for it is a medium that carries emotion and affect. Think about those balls of energy and how they are contagious.