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SoSe 22: (PS) The Political Anatomy of the Body Politic: Gender, Sexuality and Embodiment in Western Political Thought

Aylon Cohen

Comments

Since the Renaissance, ideas of the “body” and the “body politic” were commonly used to discuss the organization of European political communities. The body was not simply a metaphor to speak about the state, but also the tangible means through which monarchies exercised political power. With the democratic revolutions of the 18th century, political power is no longer said to cohere in the single body of the king but in a new category we call “The People.” What exactly happened to the body of political power? Do the democratic people have a body? And more broadly, in what ways do bodies, both metaphorically and in their lived flesh, inform how we make sense of and practice politics today? Inspired by unpredictable forms of resistance in the 20th century, theorists and activists have forged new frameworks to make sense of political concepts of power, agency, and the body politic. In this seminar, students will be introduced to historical and contemporary debates on the politics of the body and the body politic in modern democracy. Students will investigate the relationship between the material substance we call the body and the metaphor of the body in western political thought. We will explore how the place of the body in modernity intersects with and is made possible by categories of gender, sexuality, race, and class. Seminar readings will cover historical, radical democratic, feminist, and queer theories that seek to make sense of the political role of bodies in modern liberal democratic society. close

14 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Tue, 12:00 - 14:00 14 Class schedule

Tue, 2022-04-19 12:00 - 14:00

Lecturers:
Aylon Cohen