UNRULY BODIES

In this class, we will explore—to quote Roxane Gay—"what it means to live in an unruly body in a world that is always trying to control, discipline, and punish women’s bodies." Thinking and theorizing the ways in which the body figures as a site of power, we will discuss the rules that are imposed upon women’s bodies and the ways in which women’s bodies, in turn, defy those rules. Turning our attention to bodies that are deemed too fat, too sick, too dark, too loose, too queer, and more, we will read and think about bodies that resist: bodies that resist binaries, bodies that resist understanding, and bodies that resist and rebel against the rules imposed upon them. Readings will include literary texts by Ovid, Jhumpa Lahiri, Maxine Hong Kingston, Toni Morrison, Carmen Maria Machado, and Akwaeke Emezi. All required texts will be distributed by the instructor. Note: readings for this class include references to and representations of identity-based violence. We'll talk as a class about how to work through these challenging texts and topics in thoughtful and generative ways.