Let’s Get Physical: Histories and Theories of Fitness and Wellness

Did you know that the treadmill originated as a prison torture device? This course will examine the body and technology, as well as exercise and wellness cultures across media. Through readings in critical theory, media studies, gender studies, disability studies, and science and technology studies, students will explore the spaces and instruments of fitness, as well as the cultures that have emerged around them. Looking at a variety of texts, including treadmill patents and live-streamed Peloton classes, we will ask what the history of exercise tells us about gender, perceptions of health and disability, and our relationship to technology. Utilizing different research methods, including interviewing an Instagram fitness influencer and conducting autoethnography at the Nelson Gym, we will interrogate theories of “fitness,” from eugenics up through contemporary wellness fads such as biohacking, polygenic embryo screening, and “Make America Healthy Again.”