The Body in Everyday Life: Howson Chapter 1

this chapter examines the development of the self and the importance of physical experience and sensory experience AND the presentation of the SELF in everyday experiences where the body may breach social norms. Howson focuses on the work of Goffman and the work of others who have influenced Goffman.

EMBODIMENT: looks at the body as a crucial dimension of the self

• significance of the body as a lived aspect of human experience
• alerts us to the relationship between the objective EXTERIOR/INSTITUTIONAL body and the subjective SENSUAL/ANIMATED body. (Turner)
• German Philosophical distinction between KORPER (body as object) and LEIB (felt/experienced body)
• bodily integrity is essential to self identity
• the relationship of the self and society is mediated through work done visa vie the BODY in the physical environment
• AGENCY (body's role in responding to and creating social worlds)
• SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST
• ACTION (emergence of the self as embodied, constituted through the practical actions of the body upon the world in which it is situated)
• PHENOMENOLOGICAL :rejects the distinction between mind and body and places emphasis on the other senses in the constitution and presentation of self

AGENCY & EMBODIMENT

(Cooley)

• the self is presented and maintained in social encounters
• the FACE and EYES are important in western culture because it is generally visible and so we look to it to discover identity-
• it offers vital expressive information
• sight is the privileged sense
• SELF-IDEA (Cooley) emerges:
• in relation to how we imagine we appear to others and then …
• how we imagine others JUDGE our appearance, and third…
•  through "self-feeing" (produced by the imagination of these judgements).
• MIRROR metaphor. Since looking into a mirror is a communication between that image and how we imagine others see us (BODY DYSMORPHIA????) ---Quote on page 19

SOMATIC PERCEPTION

(George Herbert Mead)

• mind and body are ontologically connected and constitute a SOMATIC PERCEPTION of the world through which we are understood as objects ourselves
• self is a product of an ongoing, never-ending social process of interaction between self and others and within the self.
• two parts of the self:
• INSTINCTUAL/IMPULSIVE habits (I)
• self mediated by social learning (me)
• constant conversation between the two leads to an evolution of the self which begins in childhood and lasts throughout ones lifetime

To Cooley and Mead, the external appearance of the face and body are crucial to the development of self. Over a period of time we develop a sense of how others see us which influences the way that we see ourselves.

FELT IDENTITY & THE BODY
(Simmel)

• people are socially bound together through various encounters, sensual experiences and "glances" that are exchanged in everyday life
• GOFFMAN
• His approach takes all of this and discusses the ways in which people perform ROLES in certain SETTINGS. These PERFORMANCES are influenced by the AUDIENCE and other aspects of the setting and SCENE. 
• in this context people seek to maximize or minimize visual information depending on the impressions the seek to present in any ENCOUNTER. 
• the "self-feeling" and "self-image" people develop is related to both how effectively we present ourselves and whether encounters confirm or nullify our self-conception
• SELF and IDENTITY are actively negotiated in "interactional work" with others and grounded in "felt-identity".
• the body is central to felt identity 
• looked closely at RULES and RITUALS found in social encounters and the subtleties of facial expression, body language and other verbal and nonverbal "linguistic cues"

BODYWORK

• Depend on shared BODY IDIOM. (Techniques of the Body)
• future-bound non-verbal communication.
• physical gestures, positions and conduct that are recognizable as conventional aspects of everyday life
• handshakes
• smiles
• ways of walking, sitting, standing
• speech patterns
• forms of dress

BODY NORMS & STIGMA

• virtual social identity (normative)
• actual social identity
• act in relation to one another 
• physical appearance is very important because we use it to judge the efficacy of the role presented to us in social encounters
• example of the "radicalized body"-we have certain expectations about the ability and performance for example, of African American males (as athletes or otherwise-sexual performance and size of genitalia)

"ACTUAL SOCIAL IDENTITY" vs "VIRTUAL SOCIAL IDENTITY"

a discrepancy between the ASID (all the traits a person actually has) and VSID (all the traits we expect as a society to associate with a person of a given status and identity) creates QUESTIONS about the identity of that person in our minds. When these discrepancies create a negative evaluation of a person we call it a STIGMA.

• not all discrepancies are stigmas (positive evaluation = STATUS symbol)
• stigmas are attributes that are extremely DISCREDITING (social judgement)
• evaluation can not be removed from the SOCIAL CONTEXT
• These can be apparent (discredited) or hidden (discreditable)

• normative bodies versus deviant bodies
• biophysical norms
• age/sex-linked norms based on "scientific medicine"
• supported by consumer culture
• bodily betrayals
• may create a gap or discrepancy between virtual and actual SID in ways that may stigmatize the individual
• carry MORAL CONNOTATIONS
• gain marginal social status and are excluded from full social acceptance
• STIGMA
•  3 TYPES OF STIGMA:
  1. ABOMINATIONS OF THE BODY
  • physical deformities
  2. BLEMISHES OF CHARACTER
  • mental disorder, criminality, addiction, homosexuality, unemployment, divorce
  3. TRIBAL STIGMA
  • race, some "religions", nationality, sex

  In each case, the individual has a mark which identifies them as discredited (other than expected) and INTERFERES WITH NORMAL SOCIAL DISCOURSE.
  
  Those without a mark are called  "NORMALS" (negative definition)
  
  
• All societies will develop somatic norms although none are inherently abnormal
• subject to historical change
• BIOPHYSICAL ABNORMALITIES

• Visibility
• the degree to which a stigma is visible determines the options for "PASSING"
• OBTRUSIVENESS: how a stigma interferes with a social interaction
• KNOWN-ABOUT-NESS:how much the stigma is common knowledge or the social group is aware of it (previous knowledge)
• PERCEIVED FOCUS: the behavioral expectations , social disqualifications and the like which we perceive to be associated with the particular stigma and its duration
• DECODING CAPACITY OF THE AUDIENCE: (determines visibility)
• impression management
• information management
• Challenging Biophysical Norms
• impairment
• disability-registers the repercussions of impairment which are always mediated by society, and determine the degree to which a person with an impairment can successfully navigate the social and physical environment

FOUCOULT

disability is an ongoing process of negotiation and interaction with others, which emphasizes how persona experiences of disability and what it means to be designated "disabled" may differ according to  gender and other sources of social identity

COMMUNICATIVE BODY & FACE WORK
emotions are expressions of relationships between people rather than expressions of inner feelings.

• emotions involve sensations that involve physiology, social practice and culture
• they do not simply express emotion, but they embody it. it is a technique that signals the potential for a certain kind of relationship----friendship and a smile for example
• masks and masquerade
• make-up
• part of body labor along with other "appearance related practices"
• Face Work and Sensations (Hochschild)
• emotions are viewed as biological responses that are universal and instinctive, but emotions are not always expressed in a straight forward way, illustrating that they are shaped by culture and social interaction.
• sensations OCCUR within the body, but they have to be ACKNOWLEDGED and INTERPRETED in order to have meaning as feelings.
• can do this because we have shared cultural vocabulary of emotion, or a repertoire of "emotional language" (Harre'). This prompts us to label a sensation and act it out appropriately
• emotions therefore are emergent properties of interactions between the body, its environment and social relations (the context determines the how the emotion will be labeled as a feeling)
• Face work and emotional labor (Hochschild)
• FEELING RULES: reflect norms about what we should feel in a given situation.
• govern the sort of emotions we are supposed to display and how to display them
• "lexicon of feeling" (similar to the examples she gives in her study of flight attendants)
• TECHNIQUES OF INTERPERSONAL EXCHANGE: such as smiles, tears, trembling or touch are such techniques through which feeling rules are expressed
• Face work as techniques of Interpersonal exchange
• Involve two forms of "acting"
• SURFACE ACTING
• changing our extern appearance or adopting a strategy of pretense in order to give the impression of a particular feeling (even if we are not actually feeling this- in order to give the impression that we are.)
• may be required to do this in certain social situations and professional settings as dictated by the rules of social interaction
• poker face or forced smile as examples
• may make one feel insecure or inauthentic-may also lead to the inability to read emotions properly in others if it is not drawn into congruence with deep acting.
• often forced when people are in a subordinate social status (required)
• DEEP ACTING
• working on the feeling in order to alter it or exchange it for another feeling
• change anger to compassion
• found in meditation techniques and are often used as body exercises (feel warmth at the center of your chest to evoke this emotion, i.e.)
• with experience in face work, one establishes CONGRUENCE between deep and surface acting to reduce stress
• Face work and Occupations
• women are generally charged with managing their feelings and the feelings of others in our culture.Because of this they generally enter occupations where emotional management is required
• nursing
• flight attendants
• child care
• beauty salons
• emotionality and expressiveness are associated with the female body= face work of this kind is seen as a natural aspect of femininity
• EMOTIONAL LABOR stroll takes skill

SOMATIC WORK
(Vanni)

-how it feels to be and have a body-to hear, see, feel, taste and move through everyday life. 

• intersection of ACTION & CONDITION. (act of smelling and an order, for example)
• requires somatic rules for norms that are negotiated (like body work and face work) and enforced via cultural discourses on health and cleanliness (care for the body) and vary according to context.
• ex. The interpersonal work that we do in public bathrooms
• practice "tactful blindness" (give dispensation for bodily betrayals)
• poo poourii
• somatic work here is to manage our own conditions of odor and our habitual attitudes to the odors of others
• this is an INTIMATE ASPECT OF BODY & FACE WORK that requires interpretation and moral evaluation
• example: teaching yoga/touching bodies
• example: smelling at the gym

Corporeal Management and the Limits of Social Interactionism

enactment of body gesture and facial expression reinforces cultural ideas about appropriate conduct for a given situation, but we need to know what this body, face and somatic work "MEAN" in order for it to function. WHERE DO THE MEANINGS COME FROM?

• does the body actually generate meanings through the range of gestures and expressions that we deploy?
• or…is the body a kind of tabula rasa on which we ascribe meaning and significance?

PHENOMENOLOGY OF EMBODIMENT

If for Goffman the body serves to mediate between the self and other (in social interaction), for phenomenologists like Merleau-Ponty the body provides an ontological basis (foundation) for the self. (It mediates the SELF)

BEING IN THE WORLFD: The "Lived Body"

(Merlaeu-Ponty)

• perception is not primarily a visual and does not see us as spectators on the world, looking out onto it from a self-enclosed entity
• analysis BEGINS from the body-the body is central to the perception of self
• the body is not a special kind of physical object separate form the mind, that can be comprehended only through rational thought.
• the body is the BASIS OF BEING IN THE WORLD-embodiment proceeds and grounds reflective thought.
• we can move and act ONLY through and with our bodies (we cannot observe them directly)
• there is NO philosophical division between mind and body-perception of the world begins with the body
• EMBODIED PERCEPTION
• the social is embodied and the body is social
• the body and senses associated with embodiment provide an OPENING OUT onto the world- through this we develop a sense of self and comprehend the world via PHYSICAL ACTION
• we learn to ride a bike or drive a car by developing a feel for it based on EXPERIENCE and PRACTICE. 
• perception itself is ACTIVE, based on habits and conduct 
• we develop a sense of self via actions toward others and to the environments in which we are situated
• INTER-CORPOREALITY
• we are our bodies and we engage in the world with others through them. 
• "self" changes as the body changes
• pregnancy
• puberty
• aging
• weight loss
• organ transplantation
• plastic surgery
• in extreme situations of bodily change, the unity between mind and body images is disrupted and a person will focus on bodily sensations and experiences (Leder)
• limits to phenomenology
• not clear how symbols inform the phenomenological perspective (what is the role of society and culture here?)
• what about power relationships in society?

CULTURE AND THE HUMAN BODY

• Durkheim
• Turner
• Douglas
• Levi-Strauss
  

Lecture 1/22: Culture & The Human Body

We tend to think of the mind and body as separate in western culture, but people experience and engage with the social world from an embodied perspective. This is true EVEN when we are interacting "virtually".
How?

The physical characteristics of our bodies, our mannerisms, shape, habits and movements, contribute to and shape our perceptions and interactions with others in everyday life.

• EMBODIMENT (how we see the world and act in it through our bodies)
• BODILY CONDUCT: our knowledge of and ability to conduct the natural urges of our bodies in socially appropriate ways
• BODILY BETRAYALS: When we fail to do this.
• burping, farting, vomiting, expressing inappropriate emotion, fainting- these break the flow of social interaction and we must work hard to REPAIR that flow.
• BODY WORK: including body maintenance these are acts that are associated with grooming and hygiene, diet, and exercise... so that we may present ourselves as viable social actors. 

The norms of bodily conduct and appearance that accompany everyday life are socially shaped, change over time and vary from culture to culture.

The Basis of Western Beliefs About The Body & Mind

THE CARTESIAN BODY

• claims a real (ontological) distinction between the mind and the body and sees the MIND as more important to understanding the self and its place in society. Mind and body are distinct, body is subordinate to mind. 
• The body is a "machine" in which the self (mind) is located
• the mind is the source of thought through which the self is produced via cognitive rationalization and through which we view the world external to us.
• VISION is a privileged sense that connects the self with the physical and material environment in which the self is located. bodily sensation is NOT seen to influence or contaminate perception.
• PHILOSOPHICAL DUALISM
• BODY=NATURE=FEMININITY; MIND=CULTURE=MASCULINITY (metaphor)

THEORETICAL PARADIGMS WE WILL EXPLORE IN THIS CLASS

• FEMINISM & the body
• PHENOMENOLOGY
• RELATIONAL BODY
• UNCERTAIN BODY
• CORPOREALITY/EMBODIMENT & the "lived experience"

COMMON THEMES

• The body is more than a physical or material frame, but is largely understood as inseparable from culture and society
• the body has increasingly become the target of political control, rationalization and discipline
• the body is not a material object on which social and political forces operate, but rather forms the basis of social experience and action.
• The body is LIVED, EXPERIENCED and done so in a way that that is profoundly INFLUENCED BY SOCIAL PROCESSES and SHAPED BY CULTURE!
• the human body is also a REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN CULTURE

CULTURE AND THE BODY

• Human Body is like a cultural "MIRROR"
• mark gender, age, profession, ethnicity, etc.
• Even natural body processes are mediated by culture. 
• menstruation
• aesthetics
• body expectations throughout the lifecycle.
• PLAY is the learning of the fundamental skills of body control, social interaction, and the acceptable bound sod behavior and values of social life.

Final Projects: "Body Practice" (4/30)

Final Projects in Body Practice

Due 4/30-with presentations in class

“We know not through our intellect but through our experience.”

(Merleau-Ponty)

How does learning to both move the body and move it differently change our experience of the world? This change is the process of “rehabituation”.

It is based on the premise that the body is the principle vehicle for experiencing the world, and through these experiences we gain a sense of “self”. It is this sense of self, which informs us in our interactions in the world.

Timeline for Final Projects

By February 1:

            Choose a “body experience” that is “new” for you to dedicate yourself to over the course of this semester. You will be required to participate in this body experience for two hours each week and observe and write about these new experiences in your body (learning to move a new way) and in society.

           

By March 1:

            Document your body practice by keeping a journal of your practice and your experience of it.

Self Image:

-----Who are you in your body? How has this sense of self been altered as you learn a new way to move. Discuss these changes in detail.

-----Do you move about differently in your social world?

            Relationship to your body:

            -----Has your relationship to your body changed? If so, how?

            Cultural Definition of you as your body:

            -----How does culture define you according to your body? Does culture have expectations (roles, etc.) for your body experience? What are they?

            -----What is the relationship between your mind and your body?

Presentation and write-up      Due April 30

Assignment: Body Ethics (5/1)

BODY ETHICS
(due 5/1)

“If people think that the parts are treated like commodities, bought and sold, they may be much less willing to give. Bodies aren't the same as Coca-Cola cans.”

Commenting on the discovery of five human heads in a leaking package by a parcel carrier company during transit from Philadelphia to Denver. (Arthur Leopold)

The body has long been the object of cultural and therefore “technological” attention and elaboration. What has changed most recently is the magnitude of technological modifications of the body and the degree to which the body has become another commodity in the world of global capitalism. Our bodies are to some extent controlled by the modern state. It tells us what we can eat, how to behave, how we are born and what chemicals we can and can not be exposed to. It tells us even when we are “dead” or “alive”.
Considering the vulnerability of the body and the increasing power of the “state” consider what lessons anthropology might offer us as we face the ethical impact of powerful technologies. Use your readings for support. You may consider some or all of the following:

1.     When does life begin?

2.     When does life end?

3.     Are body parts commodities, therapies or neither?

4.     To what extent can labor be sold? Or bodies be used by others?

5.     Do we own our cells? DNA?

6.     Is enhancement/augmentation immoral (genetic, mechanical or chemical)?

7.     Should we “design babies”?

8.     Should we change our sex?

Assignment: The Social Skin (4/4)

THE SOCIAL SKIN

Cultural Values and Beliefs About Hair, Dress, and Bodily Adornment

due 4/4

“The surface of the body seems to be everywhere treated not only as the boundary of the individual as a biological and psychological entity, but as the frontier of the social self (Turner)”

Select ONE of the three topics below and discuss the cultural meaning you attribute to this “social skin (Turner). (About 3 pages)  Make sure that you reference Terrance Turner’s article “The Social Skin” along with other readings of your choice from class. Be sure to discuss the role of your “skin” in biological, psychological and social terms.

1.     Dress - Describe your dress style. How do you vary it for different social situations (e.g., work, school, home, date, wedding)? Explain why you do or do not vary it. What do these varying styles symbolize for you? Where do you get these beliefs? What does your dress style mean in terms of cultural values, beliefs and sense of self?

2.     Hair - Describe your hair style. How do you vary it for different situations (e.g., work, school, home, date, wedding)? Explain why you do or do not vary it. What do these varying styles symbolize for you?  Where do you get these beliefs? What does your hair style mean in terms of cultural values, beliefs and sense of self?

3.     Bodily Adornment - What are some of your bodily adornment practices (they can be temporary or permanent)?  How do you vary your display or practices for different social situations (e.g., work, school, home, date, wedding)? Explain why you do or do not vary it. What do these varying presentations symbolize for you? Where do you get these beliefs? What does your adornment mean in terms of cultural values, beliefs and sense of self?

Syllabus

Imagining The Body

ANTH 3325

Spring 2014

Professor Laurie Greene

Meets:
F207

M/W 12:45-2:00

This is a hybrid course which requires 2 hours of experiential work outside of the classroom each week, in addition to the scheduled meeting times.

Office Hours:

C107
t/th 10:30-12 noon

m/w 2:00-2:30

or by appointment

Contact Information:

Email is best! laurie.greene@stockton.edu (put “ANTH 3325” in the subject line)

Emergencies only!!!! (text) 6092146596

Do not leave a message on the Stockton phone 6096524564

We often take our bodies for granted as self-evident and natural, and yet what a body is and can do exceeds its purely biological limits. Through an examination of ethnographic, historical, and philosophical texts this course gives sustained attention to the body as an anthropological & sociological problem.

What is the body, and how can we decode the meanings that are inscribed on it by our everyday practices (wearing makeup, working out) and our choices of decorative markers (clothing, tattoos, piercings)? How do culture and society attribute meaning to the body to make sense of the world and achieve social control? We will begin to consider these questions through texts, films, and dialogue in class. The class will emphasize a cross-cultural examination of these topics, including an exploration of the theoretical paradigms with which we can make sense of our bodily experience.

Texts:

1. The Body in Society, (Alexandria Howson) 2nd Edition. 
2. The Body, A Reader (Miriam Fraser & Monica Greco) eds.
3. Autobiography of a Face,  (Lucy Grealy)
4. Fat: The Anthropology off an Obsession (Don Kulick& Ann Meneley) eds.

SYLLABUS & READING LIST:

I. What is a Body? Culture and The Human Body (1/23)

             Howson: Introduction, pp. 1-15

II. The Body in Everyday Life: Theories and Understandings of Embodiment

           Howson, Chapter 1 (1/27-29)

THEORIES

-Communicative body & Face Work (symbolic Interactionism of Goffman)

     The Body, a Reader: Chapters 6 and 8 (1/27)

          Body work/Body Techniques

-Body norms and stigma (Durkheim)

          Disability

            The Body, a Reader: Chapter 23, 24, and 25 (1/29)

-Phenomenology & Corporeality (Merleau-Ponty)

The Body, a Reader: Chapter 2 and 6 (2/3)

          Embodiment

BODY IMAGE

FAT chapters: Ideal, Talk (2/3)

III. The Face: Self Image and the Face of Culture
            Autobiography of a Face (Grealy) (2/5)

*****THURSDAY, 2/6 4:30--- Extra Credit Event on Human Trafficking

IV. The Body, Male & Female: Distinguishing, Creating & Maintaining Sex & Gender
            Howson, Chapter 2 (2/10)

            -MALE & FEMALE

            The Body, a Reader: Chapter 5 (2/10)

           Gendering the body

           Issues of femininity

            “The Sperm and the Egg” (Emily Martin-XEROX) (2/12)

            The Body, a Reader: Chapter 17 and 20, (2/12)

           Issues of masculinity

“Scars” (Masters XEROX) (2/17)

-SEXUALITY & THE BODY

The Body, a Reader: Chapter 13 (2/17)

         Transgender
“Envisioning the Body…” (Plemons XEROX) (2/19)                            

-Initiation
-Circumcision-male & female

V. The Civilized Body: Controlling What is “Natural”

Howson, Chapter 3 (2/24)

BODY TABOOS

-Concealment & Revelation

                     Nudity

“The Naked Self…Cybersex” (Waskul, XEROX)(2/26)

FAT, Chasers and Porn (2/26)

-Body as a natural state

         Pregnancy & Birth

“Pregnanacy, Birth and Mothering” (Katz-Rothman, XEROX) (3/3) 

-Pollution and the body (Mary Douglas)

The Body, a Reader: Chapter 7 (3/3)

                     Hair

“Manscaping” (Immergut, XEROX)(3/3)

-Feet, their Meanings & Manipulations

         Food & Body boundaries

FAT : Heavenly (3/5)

            The Body, a Reader: Chapter 14 (3/5)

Midterm Essays Due Friday March 7 (emailed in approved format by midnight)

Spring Break: March 8-16

VI. Race, Ethnicity & The Body: The Body & Identity
.           Sander, “The Racial Nose” (Sander, XEROX) (3/17)

            “…More Than My Hair…” (Patton, XEROX) (3/17)

            The Body, a Reader: Chapters, 19, 21 and 34 (3/19)

***FRIDAY & SATURDAY March 21 or 22 THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES---Extra Credit Event 7:00pm either night

VII. Selling the Body: The Body in Consumer Culture

            Howson, Chapter 4 (3/24)

            SELLING CLASS

            FAT (Leaky) (3/24)

            SELLING IMAGE

            The Body, a Reader: Chapters 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41) (3/26)

            SELLING COVER

            “The Social Skin” (Turner, XEROX) (3/31)

            MEDIA & THE BODY

            “Extreme Bodies” (Koust, XEROX) (3/31)

            “The Tanned Body” (Vannini & McCright, XEROX) (3/31)

            “Drug Addicts Bodies” (Huggins, XEROX) (3/31)

Topics to be considered in the readings above:

-Body maintenance and health

            -Visual appearance

            -Physical capitol

      Male body

     Female body

-Advertising

-Body modification

     Cosmetics & clothing

     Tattooing

     Piercing

     Foot binding

                 scarring

     painting (& cosmetics)

-Slenderness and eating disorders

-Exercise

-Body normalization (sexual ambiguity?)

Preceptorial Advising Wednesday April 2

Due: Social Skin Essay (4/4)

VIII. Regulating the Body: Control and Social Structure

            Howson, Chapter 5 (4/7)

            FAT Chaos (4/7)

            “Real-Time Fetus” (Rapp, XEROX) (4/9)

            The Body, a Reader: Chapters 12, 20 & 27 (4/14)

         Birth

         Medical gaze (Foucoult)

         Disease

              AIDS

     ***** Field Trip to Mutter Museum in Philadelphia (4/16)

IX. Vulnerable Bodies: The Life Course & Technology

            Howson, Chapter 6 (4/21)

            PAIN & ILLNESS

            The Body, a Reader: Chapters  45 & 46 (4/21 )

            AGEING

            The Body, a Reader: Chapters  15 & 28 (4/23 )

            STEALING THE BODY

            “Immortalized Cell Lines” (Lock, XEROX) (4/23)

            “Death & Organ Transplantation” (Haddow, XEROX) (4/23)

         organ donation & theft

cell lines & Henrietta Lacks

         Embryos and sperm and a Uterus for sale

-Death

                     euthanasia & life support

4/28 NO CLASS: preparation

PRESENTATIONS: 4/30  (Final Project Presentations in class)

Due: Body Ethics Essay (5/1)-emailed

Assignments & Grading

There will be a total of 100 points given for your work in this class. They will be divided as follows:

Attendance, Participation and Reading Preparation:                               20 points

Midterm (Theories and Paradigms) (online 3/7)                                    30 points
Social Skin Essay (emailed 4/4)                                                                15 points

Body Ethics Essay (emailed 5/1)                                                                15 points
Final Project: The Body: An Experience in “Rehabituation” (4/30)       20 points

Class Format

            Each class period runs from 12:45-2:00 Mondays and Wednesdays. Fridays we will not meet on campus, but you will be expected to engage in a “body practice” that is “new to you” for 2 hours each week, so that you may write about it for your final paper (35 points). This class depends on the foundational reading that you are assigned and so, you must read and prepare to discuss the material ON THE DATE indicated in the syllabus. This is a new class, so we will be struggling to make sense of this material together. Discussion and analysis is critical to this class and everyone will be expected to talk on a regular basis. You will be able to prepare for reading and discussion by checking out the discussion outlines, lectures and other material on the BLOG (imaginingthebody.blogspot.com).

You will also be asked to view some FILMS outside of class and come prepared to discuss these films as they relate to the assigned course material. So, in addition to class attendance, you will be required to do the following outside of class each week to fulfill the requirements for this hybrid course:

1.     2 hours of a “body practice” of your choice, making observations and taking notes about this experience and how it affects your sense of self, and the theoretical understandings of the body in culture.

2.     Film viewing (  times) when assigned. Links will be supplied on the blog when available.

a.     Dirty, Pretty Things (vulnerable bodies and commodification)

b.     Good Hair (body as metaphor and ethnic identity)

c.      Likeness (body image & dismorphia) http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/now-screening-a-shocking-short-film-about-body-image-starring-elle-fanning/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 

d.     About the body (

e.     Boys Don’t Cry   (Making the body & Gender)

f.      Feed (taboo and sexuality)

g.     I may add more!!!!! J