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May 17, 2024
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HC 885 - History of the Body3 credits
From eugenics to bodybuilding, tattooing to anorexia, cosmetic surgery to reproductive technology: in modern times the body has been the site of the most personal and the most political battles. Various experts and historical actors have sought to understand, discipline, and shape it to conform to a variety of agendas. Rather than remaining unchanged over time, the human body (and our experience of it) has evolved in response to such pressures. This seminar explores major themes in the history of the body in the modern Western world. We will probe the myth of the ideal body and explore historical attempts to construct a “normal” body. We will examine a wide range of practices through which individuals have attempted to shape their identities through the reshaping of their bodies. Finally, we will explore the medicalization of the body and the role of science as an authoritative discourse in this process.
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