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SoSe 22: Unruly Bodies: Embodiment in Recent Short Fiction

Julie Elizabeth Dickson

Comments

Literature has always been concerned with matters of the flesh. In fact, its ability to bring together multiple and even conflicting discourses is one reason it can tell us so much about how we conceptualize the body at any given point in time. But recent years have been especially exciting in this regard. There has been an unprecedented (and long-needed!) increase in publication from and about marginalized perspectives, and that specifically situates these perspectives as embodied. This seminar will consider a range of such writing, including stories from BIPOC, queer and trans authors; writing that deals with disability, body size and with bodies that change through ageing, illness and maternity; and writing that imagines different and often posthuman bodies. Our selection will focus on fiction about "unruly bodies"--those that do not or will not conform to North American traditional norms. We will read two novels and several short stories, along with theoretical texts that can help us think through specific issues of representation. The aim is to first encounter this rich plurality and then to explore how we might approach it as scholars. Last but not least, we will consider the mode of representation itself--after all, there is no body in the text!--through close readings and creative assignments. What can we begin to say about how literature is representing bodies today? close

12 Class schedule

Regular appointments

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

Mon, 2022-04-25 12:00 - 14:00

Lecturers:
Julie Dickson