Contact
Biography
I hold MA and MPhil degrees in the History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine from the University of Cambridge, a further Masters degree from the University of Edinburgh, and was awarded my PhD in 2008 from the 糖心原创.
My research interests broadly revolve around the study of identity (self) and 'the human condition' (materiality/morbidity/mortality, emotions and morality). In particular, my research develops new approaches to transcending traditional dualisms, for example those of body and mind, or experience and representation, to explore non-dualistic ways of understanding embodied (inter)subjectivity and connections between cultural representation and experience of self (and others).
My PhD - Exploring the Embodied Basis of Being through Merleau-Ponty and Dance: A Conversation between Philosophy and Practice - 'fleshes out' embodiment theory through an interdisciplinary approach which brings the philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty into conversation with the situated, practical knowledges of professional contemporary dance practitioners, accessed through in-depth qualitative interviews.
This approach brings together a philosophy (Merleau-Ponty) which is rooted in the notion of embodied practice, and an embodied practice (contemporary dance) which both grounds and is grounded in philosophically interesting themes such as subjectivity, identity, intersubjectivity, expression and communication, allowing mutual illumination and opening up a new conceptual space for the exploration of the embodied basis of being.
Research interests
- Subjectivity and Intersubjectivity
- Embodiment
- Relationships between Theory, Art, Practice and Method
- Continental Philosophy/Theory, including Existentialist Phenomenology, Post-Structuralism and Psychoanalysis
- Love and the Erotic
- Environmentalism
- (Mental) Illness
- Contemporary Dance and Performance Art
Teaching Summary
My teaching reflects my research interests, with a strong emphasis on the relationship between identity, culture and power, and on the relationship between textual and social research methods. I have… read more
Research Summary
Research interests:
-
Subjectivity and Intersubjectivity
-
Embodiment
-
Relationships between Theory, Art, Practice and Method
-
Continental Philosophy/Theory, including Existentialist Phenomenology, Post-Structuralism and Psychoanalysis
-
Love and the Erotic
-
Environmentalism
-
(Mental) Illness
-
Contemporary Dance and Performance Art
Orchid ID: 0000-0002-4834-596X
Recent Publications
AIMIE PURSER, 2022. A grounding which is at the same time an opening: Understanding dance as therapeutic through a Merleau-Pontian framework. In: CHRISTINE LEROY and CHIARA PALERMO, eds., Pesanteur et portance: Une 茅thique de la gravit茅 Hermann.
AIMIE PURSER, 2021. Journal of Medical Humanities. 42, 165鈥�178
MELANIE JORDAN, EDWARD J. WRIGHT and AIMIE PURSER, 2020. Capoeira. In: PAUL CRAWFORD, ed., The Routledge Companion To Health Humanities: Capoeira Routledge. 377-382
AIMIE PURSER, 2018. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 10(3), 318-332
My teaching reflects my research interests, with a strong emphasis on the relationship between identity, culture and power, and on the relationship between textual and social research methods. I have teaching experience across social and cultural theory, research methods, and a range of substantive topics including the Sociology of the Body and Sociology of Health and Illness.