Didactical presence - presence in esthetical learning-processes with children

This is a pedagogical and philosophical project aiming to broaden and deepen our understanding of presence in esthetical and emotional learning-processes with kindergarten-children. In the project I elaborate on the meaning of presence, as it presents itself in ongoing pedagogical and philosophical and esthetical discourse. Some of the understandings of presence thus found are explicit, some are implicit. I open up these existing understandings to further conceptualizing through phenomenological-hermeneutical reading. Based on this, I outline a concept of presence of relevance to pedagogical and esthetical theory and praxis. My focus is not so much on learning as on esthetical experience and processes, in particular on intersubjectivity in relation to presence. I intend to stay at the Berkeley Graduate School of Education from August 2015 till August 2016, under the guidance of Professor Larry Nucci. During this period, I shall participate in ongoing courses at Berkeley Graduate School of Education as well as at Theater, Dance and Peformance Studies in order to update my project and to write two papers of relevance to ongoing international discourse. I shall furthermore present my research to fellow PhD-students as well as to prolific researchers, in order to improve my writing- and presentation-skills. Through my stay, I intend to make connections with centrally placed scholars in order for my home institute to benefit from the stay and to facilliate further cooperations between my home department and UC Berkeley.