The body: A human history

In this unit, you will develop your own understanding of key primary and secondary sources dealing with the history of the body. The unit draws on work from different fields of historical enquiry including the history of medicine, sexuality, psychology, and anthropology; cultural and social history, as well as the histories of exercise and sports. You will be able to analyse how representations of the body and practices centred on the body (e.g. exercising, tattooing etc.) have influenced people’s understandings of class, race, and gender. In addition, you will have the opportunity to develop your own critical views on historical sexualities. In discussing the representations of grotesque, normal, and beautiful bodies, the unit explores mechanisms of symbolic inclusion and exclusion from imagined communities. The relationship between the reproductive and productive bodies of men and women will be another area in which you can develop a research project. In addition to a discussion of disabled bodies, the unit will discuss the enabling of the body and mind through modern practices of performance enhancement. You will learn through a mix of lectures, seminar discussions and small work groups.