‘The body and the ear’: an aesthetic education approach for the international social work classroom under Erasmus+ blended intensive programmes

Abstract

ABSTRACT The new generation of Erasmus+ agreements offer funding for innovatively designed compact blended intensive programmes in which international students study abroad together in Europe. The heterogeneity of international social work curricula, coupled with the linguistic and cultural diversity of students, presents pedagogic challenges. Inspired by teaching on such a programme in Germany, this paper theoretically examines an ‘aesthetic education’ (arts-based) response to these challenges. The basis of this learning is heightening students’ perception of each other, their own bodies, and their embodied knowledge. Examining a music workshop and a tango workshop reveals pedagogies grounded in creative arts, and utilizing the different senses of hearing, movement, and touch. It is suggested that theoretically-founded teaching approaches utilizing non-verbal communication and learning can supplement the primarily verbal pedagogies more commonly used in the social work classroom. Investigating philosophical writings from Friedrich Schiller and sociological ideas from Hartmut Rosa, it is argued that playful interactions can lead to students deepening their understanding of bodily-based aspects of communication and thereby experiencing more resonant relations to one other. The skills and sensibilities acquired in such creative sessions have contemporary relevance, preparing the student social worker for communicative interaction with ‘the other’.