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Assessment and Communication for People with Disorders of Consciousness
Published on: August 1, 2017
Tackling indifference--clowning, dementia, and the articulation of a sensitive body
1Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. hendriks@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Abstract:
In this auto-ethnographic study, I focus on a special form of clowning for people at an advanced stage of dementia. The miMakkus clown is presented as a specialist in contact with people with whom communication is no longer possible by the usual (linguistic, cognitive) means. I illustrate how the miMakkus clown tries to reach people with dementia, focusing specifically on the role of the sensitive body as an instrument for attunement. As I demonstrate, in their contact, the clown and the person with dementia are involved in a process of mutual articulation.
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