Dr. Laura Azzarito
Associate Professor of Physical Culture and Education
Professional Background
Educational BackgroundLouis iana State Unive rs ity, USA. Doctor of Philos ophy in Kine s iology. Jos e phine A . Robe rts LS U A lum ni A s s ociation Dis tinguis he d Dis s e rtation A w ard in the A rts , Hum anitie s and S ocial S cie nce s
Unive rs ity of Maryland, Colle ge Park, USA. Mas te r of Arts de gre e in Kine s iology. A lice Lov e A w ard for outs tanding acade mic pe rformance
Unive rs ita’ di Scie nze Motorie di T orino. Bache lor’s de gre e in Phys ical Education with high honors
Scholarly Interests
Dr. Azzarito’s re s e arch e xamine s the links among young pe ople ’s cons truction of the body, ide ntity and ine quality is s ue s from a pe dagogical and s ociocultural pe rs pe ctive . Dr. Azzarito is curre ntly conducting vis ual re s e arch proje cts with young pe ople in urban s chool phys ical activity conte xts . He r re late d inte re s ts include the the orization and application of vis ual me thods ; the e xamination of the ways in which the inte rs e ction of ge nde r/s e x, race /e thnicity and s ocial clas s dis cours e s in s chool phys ical activity informs young pe ople ’s cons truction of the body; vis ual pe dagogie s ; and curriculum the ory.
He r curre nt proje cts cons ide r the critical and trans formative as pe cts of us ing participatory vis ual re s e arch me thods with young pe ople in s chool conte xts . She is particularly inte re s te d in s tudying vis ual me thods as a me ans for e xploring young pe ople ’s e mbodie d ide ntitie s , the ir making s e ns e of the body in the ir daily live s . T he inte rdis ciplinary nature of he r re s e arch brings toge the r art e ducation, vis ual s tudie s , curriculum, phys ical e ducation and phys ical culture s tudie s . He r re s e arch is informe d by cons tructivis t, fe minis t pos s tructuralis t and pos t-colonial the orie s .
Selected Publications
Azzarito, L., & Ennis , C.D. (2003). A s e ns e of conne ction: T oward s ocial cons tructivis t phys ical e ducation. S port, Education, and S ocie ty , 8, 179- 198 Azzarito, L., Munro P., & Solmon, M.A. (2004). Uns e ttling the body. T he
ins titutionalization of phys ical activity at the turn of the 20th ce ntury. Que s t, 4, 377- 396
Azzarito, L., & Solmon, M.A. (2005). A re conce ptualization of phys ical e ducation: T he inte rs e ction of race /ge nde r/s ocial clas s . S port, Education, and S ocie ty , 1, 25- 47
Azzarito, L. (2007). “Shape up Ame rica.” Unde rs tanding fatne s s as a curriculum proje ct. Journal of the A m e rican A s s ociation for the A dv ance m e nt of Curriculum S tudie s , 3, 1- 27
Azzarito, L., & Harris on, L., Jr. (2008). “White me n can’t jump”. Race , ge nde r, and natural athle ticis m. Inte rnational Re v ie w for the S ociology of S port, 43, 4, 347- 364
Azzarito, L., & Katze w, A. (2010). Pe rforming ide ntitie s in phys ical e ducation: (En)ge nde ring fluid s e lve s . Re s e arch Quarte rly for Ex e rcis e & S port, 81, 1, 25-37
Azzarito, L. (2010). Ne w girls , trans ce nde nt fe mininitie s , and ne w pe dagogie s : T oward girls ’ hybrid bodie s ? S port, Education and S ocie ty , 15, 261- 276 Azzarito, L. (2010). Ways of s e e ing the body in kine s iology: A cas e for vis ual me thodologie s . Que s t, 62, 155- 170
Azzarito, L., & Ste rling J. (2010). “What it was in my e ye s ”: Picturing youths ’ e mbodime nt in ‘re al’ s pace s . Qualitativ e Re s e arch in S port and Ex e rcis e , 2, 209- 228. Spe cial Edition on Vis ual Me thods in Phys ical Culture
Azzarito, L. (2011). “I’ve los t my football...” Re thinking ge nde r(s ), the hidde n curriculum, and s port in the global conte xt. In R. Baile y & S. Dagkas (Eds .), S port for all? Ex clus ion from and through s port. London: Routle dge
Azzarito, L. (in pre s s ). Digital photography as a pe dagogical tool for inve s tigating young pe ople ’s e mbodime nt. V is ual S tudie s
Selected Funded Grant Applications
A z z arito, L. Principal Inv e s tigator. Econom ic and S ocial Re s e arch Council, Augus t 2008. Moving in my world: An inve s tigation into young pe ople ’s e mbodime nt and its impact on participation in phys ical activity. A w arde d £210,135. (Approximate , $459,025). Loughborough Unive rs ity
A z z arito, L. Principal Inv e s tigator. T he Britis h A cade m y , July 2009. Ge ographie s of girls ’ bodie s : A vis ual inquiry into minority girls ’ phys icality in s chool.
A w arde d £7,461.06. (Approximate , $12,690). Loughborough Unive rs ity
Selected Conference Papers
Azzarito, L. Us ing digital photography to s he d light on “bodie s at ris k ” in
phy s ical culture . Pape r to be pre s e nte d at the annual me e ting of the Ame rican Educational Re s e arch As s ociation, Vancouve r, Canada. SIG- Qualitative Re s e arch Azzarito, L. & Marttine n, R. A v is ual inquiry into y oung pe ople ’s e x pre s s ions of the ir e m bodim e nt. Pape r to be pre s e nte d at the annual me e ting of the Ame rican Alliance for He alth, Phys ical Education, Re cre ation and Dance , Re s e arch
Cons ortium, Bos ton, MA
Azzarito, L. Ge nde r, the hidde n curriculum and phy s ical e ducation through girls ’ e y e s , March 2011. Pape r pre s e nte d at the annual me e ting of the Ame rican Alliance for He alth, Phys ical Education, Re cre ation and Dance , Re s e arch Cons ortium, San Die go, CA
A “s e cond hom e ”: Ethnic m inority girls ’ ge ographie s of the body in an urban s chool, April 2011. Pape r pre s e nte d to the Re s e arch on Le arning and
Ins truction in Phys ical Education SIG, Ame rican Educational Re s e arch As s ociation, Ne w Orle ans , LA
C o nf e r e nc e S y m p o s ia Or g a nis e r
V is ual Me thods and Ide ntity W ork, May 2012. Inte rnational Congre s s for Qualitative Inquiry, Unive rs ity of Illinois , Urbana- Champaign
V is ual m e thods , Pe dagogie s & Y oung Pe ople, Se pte mbe r 2011. Britis h Educational Re s e arch As s ociation Confe re nce , London
K e y no t e P r e s e nt a t io ns
S ocial and cultural dim e ns ions of phy s ical lite racie s , June 29, 2011. Ke ynote Le cture for Inte rnational Confe re nce on Phys ical Lite racie s , Unive rs ity of Be dfors hire , UK
“T o Run the Cours e ” in phy s ical e ducation: Brow s ing the ne w condition of y outh in our global e ra, Fe bruary 2007. Invite d Ke ynote Le cture for Inte rnational Congre s s of Phys ical Education, Palma, Spain
Re s p o ns e t o K e y no t e L e c t ur e
Re s e arching y oung pe ople in phy s ical activ ity s e ttings , March 2009. Ame rican Alliance for He alth, Phys ical Education, Re cre ation and Dance , T ampa, FL
Centers and Projects
Mo v ing in My W o r ld, Dig ita l P ho to g ra phy Re s e a rc h- Re la te d Ex hibitio ns
o Re s e arche d S chools. Exhibitions : 12 April–29 May, 2010
o Roots S chool- Bas e d A rts Ex hibition, De Montfort Unive rs ity, Le ice s te r, UK. Exhibition: 11 June –15 June , 2010
o Pe de s trian A rts Ce ntre, Le ice s te r, UK. Exhibition: 1 July–6 July, 2010 o S ocial Life of Me thods : ES RC Ce nte r for Re s e arch on S ocio- Cultural
Change (CRES C) Confe re nce, Oxford Unive rs ity, Oxford, UK. Exhibition 31 Augus t–3 Se pte mbe r 2010
o Ne w W alk Mus e um & A rt Galle ry, Le ice s te r, UK. Exhibition: 25 March–15 May 2011
o A IES EP Inte rnational Confe re nce, Lime rick, Ire land. Exhibition: 22- 25 June 2011
Mo v ing in My W o r ld V is ua l P a r t ic ip a t o r y Re s e a r c h P r o je c t
T he Mov ing in My W orld e xhibition on youth and phys ical culture was the
culmination of a two- ye ar vis ual e thnographic re s e arch proje ct funde d by
Economic, Social, Re s e arch Council, UK. T he photo e xhibitions fe ature d
s tude nt- re s e arche rs ’ digital photo diarie s of phys ical activity, s port, le is ure and
re cre ational practice s in the ir daily live s in Le ice s te r, England. One of the
purpos e s of this re s e arch proje ct was to e nable young pe ople of diffe re nt e thnic minority backgrounds to “s pe ak for the ms e lve s ” agains t the backdrop of public he alth dis cours e s of bodie s - at- ris k. In the Mov ing in My W orld re s e arch proje ct, s tude nt- re s e arche rs us e d digital came ras to cre ate vis ual diarie s e xpre s s ing the ir thoughts , fe e lings and ide as , and to s hare the ir photo-narrative s about what it me ans to “move in the ir worlds ”.
Press Release
“Le ice s te r pupils catch phys ical activity on came ra for ne w e xhibition.” Pre s s Re le as e No: 10/101. June 29, 2010. Public Re lations , Loughborough Unive rs ity
