Course Details

SC 301 Overview

This course addresses the body from a sociological perspective; this means students will look at the body not as a preexisting physical fact, but as a constantly changing social relation interpreted through the lens of culture and shaped by social life. The course will examine how humans "perform" individual and group identities through their bodies, as well as how bodies are used in the name of social control and domination. Themes may include medicalization, tattooing and body piercing, beauty standards and plastic surgery, transgender, race and ethnicity, sport, consumption, aging and disability.