GWSS 290 A: Special Topics in Women Studies

BODY POLITICS - THIS COURSE PROVIDES AN INTRODUCTION TO FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS IN FEMINIST INQUIRY THROUGH A FOCUS ON THE BODY AS A SOCIAL-HISTORICAL SITUATION, IN TERMS OF GENDER, SEXUALITY, RACE, CLASS, AND DISABILITY. HOW IS SOMETHING SO INTIMATELY EXPERIENCED AS THE BODY SHAPED BY POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SCIENTIFIC, AND CULTURAL NORMS? THROUGH A DIVERSE SET OF MATERIALS - CULTURAL CRITICISM,ETHNOGRAPHY, MEMOIR, ART, FILM, AND LITERATURE - STUDENTS WILL EXAMINE THE WAYS BODIES ARE MADE THROUGH MEDICINE, LABOR (PRODUCTION AND REPRODUCTION), WAR, AND THE ENVIRONMENT. COURSE ASSIGNMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS WILL GUIDE STUDENTS TO CRITICALLY REFLECT ON THE BODIES THEY INHABIT AS A FORM OF ETHICAL, IMAGINATIVE REORIENTATION TOWARD SOCIAL NORMS AND PRACTICES THAT PRODUCE INJURY AND INJUSTICE.