The Body Issue: An Introduction

Notions about bodies determine what or who is normal, deviant, transgressive, healthy or ill, and who belongs to the human. From philosophical questions about the nature of the body, to issues of gender, race, sexuality, trauma, disability, artificial intelligence, and death, we will see how bodies carry, produce, and perform meanings. With different artworks, we will examine how bodies are being represented, discuss what is being expected from bodies, and speculate on the possibility for bodies to no longer be an issue. This is a reading intensive and interdisciplinary course. Students across arts, humanities, and social science backgrounds welcome.