English and Comparative Literature
Undergraduate Lecture
Tu Th 1:10-2:25PM
This course surveys a variety of ways in which embodiment participates in containing, attaining, producing, and transmitting human knowledge. Perspectives on embodiment represented in this course are drawn from feminist scholarship, affect studies, religion, psychoanalysis, and performance studies, and include a selection of texts that address the current conversations around illness, contagion, and race. Theoretical discussions are enriched by insights from a diverse selection of genres and cultural traditions, ranging from the classics of American, German, and Russian literature, to the less well-known cinematic and performative traditions of former Yugoslavia, Poland, and Japan. Through close readings, seminar discussions, collaborative work, written assignments, and individual projects tailored to their academic strengths and interests, students analyze and synthesize different modes of thinking about, portraying, and experiencing their own body and the bodies of others. Ultimately, they are asked to reflect on the role of embodiment in their own personal, intellectual, and political identities.
Link to Vergil
Note: only courses offered during the two previous semesters have active Vergil links.
