Bodies, Technology, Violence

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Bodies, Technology and Violence" addresses gender and globalization from 1945 to the contemporary through intersections between technologies, bodies, and violence. The course asks students to analyze how assemblages linking humans, machines, and territories act politically and study the consequences of these interactions. Violence, figured through war, environmental degradation, economic inequalities, and other forms of injustice, is central to these considerations. The course will highlight connections between technologies and violence, and their relationship to human bodies. We will explore multiple forms of embodiment, taking into account not only gender, but also sexuality and race. Drawing on key theoretical texts, the initial part of the course considers perspectives from science and technology, gender studies, queer theory and critical race studies. The second part of the course studies how these concepts play out in diverse contexts, including the Nevada Test Site, Hiroshima, computers, the Gulf War, and at the Israeli / Palestine border. A film, novel, and contemporary video art also form part of the course materials.