Body Politics

Instructor: Jessica McKechnie

The politics of disability are fraught and contentious. This course takes up the experience of disability by asking how and why differently-abled bodies are excluded, marginalized, or threatened. Students will examine these questions through the psychosocial and cultural history of disability, as well as through life narratives and real-world exploration. Beginning with the history of disability, students will gain an understanding of how current disability identity and culture has develop in the US. Students will experience and also produce personal life narratives related to bodily politics and gain insights that help them navigate the politics and participate in the change-making advocacy of disability.

GenEd: DSHS
Offered in: Fall 2021, Fall 2022
Required/Optional: Optional

Instructor: Alexa Bely

Animal bodies have clear boundaries across space and time – or do they? Although the most familiar animals have clearly delimited bodies and persist only for a certain amount of time, evolution has produced many remarkable animals that defy simple definitions of bodies. Some animals shatter their bodies into pieces to reproduce, generating a collection of identical clones. Others remain physically attached to their siblings or offspring – coordinating activities across attached individuals and functioning as a meta-organism. Still others continually renew their bodies and attain immortality. In this seminar, we will explore the naturally-occurring phenomena that challenge our concept of body. As we analyze the complex ways that bodies relate to one another in the world and broaden the definition of body, students will engage in authentic scientific practices with transferable skills.

GenEd: DSSP
Offered in: Fall 2021, Spring 2023
Required/Optional: Optional

Instructor: Katherine Stanutz

Hard work has long been central to American identity, and the Puritan work ethic that forged a nation lingers in today’s grind culture. Recently, though, workers have favored lying down over leaning in, prioritizing self-care over hustle. In this course, we’ll explore the history of this tension between labor and (perceived) laziness. From Rip Van Winkle’s slumber to Cheech and Chong’s stoner antics, laziness has a long American genealogy informed by body politics. Indeed, the concept of “laziness” is loaded with racist, classist, sexist, and ableist notions, dictating who is seen as “lazy” and who enjoys “leisure.” By examining the American impulse to both work hard and hardly work, students will learn to critically analyze how certain cultural narratives structure our everyday existence, and how we can resist them.

GenEd: under consideration for DSHU
Offered in: Spring 2023
Required/Optional: Optional