Body and Flesh in Feminist Theory [4-weeks, $120 Suggested]
Instructor: Andrews | Mondays May 10-31 | 8:00-9:30 PM ET
One of the foundational insights of feminist theory is the centrality of embodiment to experience and thought. Bodies matter, literally and figuratively. But how to conceptualize their mattering has been a subject of debate. Perhaps most crucial has been the question of who gets to adjudicate which bodies count—law, science, philosophy?—and do we even wanted to be counted or countable? In this four-week theory seminar, we’ll read important texts that traverse conversations around the identity, performance, and phenomenology of bodies by feminist thinkers from the 1970s to the present. This class will serve as an introduction to feminist and queer theory, while also digging deep into the terms and concepts around embodiment as they change over time and intersect with race, class, sexuality, and other aspects of ourselves. Readings will include: Luce Irigary, “This Sex Which Is Not One;” Judith Butler, Gender Trouble; Hortense Spillers, “Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Maybe;” and Gayle Salamon, Assuming a Body: Transgender and Rhetorics of Materiality, and Stacy Alaimo and Susan Heckman (eds), Material Feminisms, among others.
Image: Carol Rama, “Epiphanies”; photo by Andrea Rossetti
We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.