Performing Presence with the Teaching-Body via Videoconferencing: A Postdigital Study of the Teacher’s Face and Voice

This paper addresses the dearth in research on embodied teaching by focusing on the body of the teacher, in particular their face, voice, use of silence, and their relationship with presence online. Postdigital positioning of the notion and experience of embodiment online posits a dynamic co-existence between technology and all aspects of human life including that which is social, physical, and material. Based on interviews conducted with five lecturers in different disciplines at a university in Singapore, and using the theoretical lens of Performance Studies, this paper presents an explanatory study that argues for the synergistic relationship between the teaching-body, presence, in/and online videoconferencing within the postdigital context. It argues that teaching presence takes place online and that the teaching-body is central to the performance of presence leading to a more meaningful educational experience.