HIST 317 The Body in American Culture: Pre-Colonial Period to the Present (RES)
This interdisciplinary course explores the powerful role of the body in American culture from the pre-Colonial period to the present. It seeks to identify, explore, and debate various ways in which the American “body” was constructed by political, sociological, religious, scientific, and artistic forces. Sample topics include the therapeutic practices of Indigenous healing; the European conquest of Central and North America, and the ensuing genocide of indigenous populations; the persecution of Quaker bodies; the Puritan view of witchcraft and the woman's "sinful" body; the role of the female spiritual medium; the capturing and enslavement of African bodies; the nature and ongoing impact of corporal losses during the Civil War; conflicting social attitudes toward White and African-American female college students during the Gilded Age; the gradual liberation of the body as expressed through the choreography and values of Isadora Duncan; discriminatory practices inflicted on gay bodies; the politics of the female body as explored by contemporary African-American women artists; ongoing political and legal restrictions placed on women's bodies; and racial violence inflicted on African-American bodies. Students will engage with these subjects through course readings, videos, writing assignments, and class discussions.