The Corporeal Marker Project (CMP): Teaching About Bodily Difference, Identity and Place Through Experience

Abstract

In response to recent articles and ideas for experiential learning activities in human geography, this paper outlines a particular approach to learning about the body, difference, mobility and geographic space through experience. The Corporeal Marker Project designed and implemented by the authors provides a spatial experience of difference for students who represent themselves as ‘the other’ by marking their bodies outside accepted ‘norms’ in public and private spaces. The authors include a detailed description of this assignment, two examples of its use at separate campuses and different human geography courses, and reflections on its use and effectiveness.