DSJS 2130

From the history of freak shows and ethological exhibits, to contemporary body enhancement practices, to pop culture representations of undead or superhuman bodies, this course explores how bodies deemed monstrous or freakish have always been tied to assumptions about race, disability, gender, sexuality, and national identity. It examines how the body's appearance and actions exposes the limits of who and what is considered normal and, even, human, asking how bodies have been sites for the control and regulation of groups of people as well as ways to challenge and affirm identity categories.