Everything has a history—including the human body. In this course, we will take three intersecting approaches to explore the History of the Human Body. First, we will examine how perceptions of the physical body – skin color, hair, muscles, the senses, bones, blood, the brain – have changed over time. Second, dissecting the material body will lead us to studying the concept of the human body as a metaphor to construct boundaries and categories of difference in cultures around the world. Our topics will include zombies, ghosts, and monsters; sex and gender; beauty and health; emotions and mental disorders; tattoos and plastic surgery; and cyborgs and science fiction, among others. Finally, metaphors will illustrate how we can use the human body as a methodology to analyze any historical topic. Consider: incarcerated bodies, colonized bodies, militarized bodies, working bodies, racialized bodies, and the list goes on. Faculty from the Department of History will give guest lectures throughout the semester to share how different historical contexts and methods approach the human body.
HIST 202 History of the Human Body
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