Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation & Movement Affect Learning
Dr. Susan Hrach (rahk) is director of the Faculty Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and professor of English at Columbus State University. She has taught at Centenary College of Louisiana, the University of Alabama, and the University of Washington in Seattle, where she earned her PhD. Susan pursued undergraduate interdisciplinary studies at the University of Notre Dame, including a year abroad at Universität Innsbruck, Austria. Her areas of scholarly specialization include early modern literature, world literature, and translation studies. The University System of Georgia recognized Susan’s commitment to increasing global awareness among her students with the Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award in 2013.
Starting from new research on the body—aptly summarized as "sitting is the new smoking"—Minding Bodies aims to help instructors improve their students' knowledge and skills through physical movement, attention to the spatial environment, and sensitivity to humans as more than "brains on sticks." It shifts the focus of adult learning from an exclusively mental effort toward an embodied, sensory-rich experience, offering new strategies to maximize the effectiveness of time spent learning together on campus as well as remotely.