Jagiellonian University in Kraków - Central Authentication System

Sociology of the Body

General data

Course ID:	WSM.IASP-VP-2
Erasmus code / ISCED:	(unknown) / (unknown)
Course title:	Sociology of the Body
Name in Polish:	Sociology of the Body
Organizational unit:	Institute of American Studies and Polish Diaspora
Course groups:	(in Polish) Przedmioty dla programu WSMP-0120-2SO
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores):	4.00 Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles: the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS; the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h; 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes; weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS; work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load. view allocation of credits
Language:	English

Classes in period "2023/2024 summer semester" (in progress)

Time span:	2024-02-26 - 2024-06-16	Selected timetable range: weekly course term Navigate to timetable MO WYK TU W TH WYK FR
Type of class:	Lecture, 30 hours, 16 places more information
Coordinators:	Kyle Green, Agnieszka Stasiewicz-Bieńkowska, Jolanta Szymkowska-Bartyzel
Group instructors:	Kyle Green
Students list:	(inaccessible to you)
Examination:	Course - Examination
Goals of education:	By the end of this course, I hope you find Sociology of the Body to be one of the most enjoyable and useful courses at the university. My goal is to have helped you: • Apply theory to analyze socio-cultural phenomena and how that relates to the body. • Recognize the three ways the body can be looked at in order to understand these phenomena. • Think about how the way that the body is looked at informs our relationship with our own and each other’s bodies. • Build your ability to read and engage with complicated arguments. • See important connections and patterns where you had not before. • Improve your ability to formulate sociological questions about socio-cultural phenomena.
Conditions of gaining credit:	Module Write-ups (x4) ……................................................50% Discussion Helper (x4) ....................................................40% Participation ....................................................................10% TOTAL ..............................................................................100%
Assessment methods and criteria for this course:	DISCUSSION Helper: Since this course is seminar/book-club style, we need discussion helpers. Each student is responsible for ‘helping’ with four classes this semester (1 per week and 1/2 of our total meetings). The discussion helper is responsible for bringing a short outline of the reading/summary of the argument, their impression of the key takeaway, and three discussion questions. I will provide a sheet with a few suggestions to help you in this process. MODULE WRITE-UP: This course is made up of four independent modules. Each module is based around a different theorist/topic related to the body and society. Each module is made up of same combination of lectures, readings, and podcasts. After completing all of the assigned content, your job is to: • write a summary of the theme or theory of the module (2-3 paragraphs). • Discuss how each assigned reading/podcast relates to your summary of the module. Some will fit much more easily - make sure to discuss this. • Make a connection to your own example - this could be an experience you’ve had, something you’ve seen in the news, a music video, a joke, anything really! (1-2 paragraphs) • Tell me what you liked or didn’t like about the argument (this can be a more of an opinion) the last two sections go together well and can be combined.
Short description:	The body has come into vogue as a topic of discussion both inside and outside of academia. Cultural shifts have tied identity and consumption increasingly tight to the body. And with technological breakthroughs, it becomes progressively easier to manipulate the flesh and surveil the population in manners that once was only imagined in science fiction novels. This course will focus on three approaches to understanding the relationship between the body and society: the lived body, groups of bodies, and the body as an object. Through this, we will explore how we experience the world through our own bodies, how the body is defined and understood through group interaction, and how our bodies become the object of a variety of types of knowledge, expertise, and surveillance. In exploring these three approaches, we will read work exploring emotions, skill-acquisition, self-discipline, self-exploration, group ritual, consumption of other bodies, and body surface modification. Topics of examination will include health/medicine, sport, celebrity, media, gender/sex, sexuality, trauma, food, hygiene, and more.
Full description:	The body has come into vogue as a topic of discussion both inside and outside of academia. Cultural shifts have tied identity and consumption increasingly tight to the body. And with technological breakthroughs, it becomes progressively easier to manipulate the flesh and surveil the population in manners that once was only imagined in science fiction novels. This course will focus on three approaches to understanding the relationship between the body and society: the lived body, groups of bodies, and the body as an object. Through this, we will explore how we experience the world through our own bodies, how the body is defined and understood through group interaction, and how our bodies become the object of a variety of types of knowledge, expertise, and surveillance. In exploring these three approaches, we will read work exploring emotions, skill-acquisition, self-discipline, self-exploration, group ritual, consumption of other bodies, and body surface modification. Topics of examination will include health/medicine, sport, celebrity, media, gender/sex, sexuality, trauma, food, hygiene, and more. Day1: Lecture Topic: Course Overview, Why a Sociology of the Body, Norbert Elias and the ‘Civilizing Process’ Podcasts: Invisibilia ‘Poop Friends’ Reading: Matthew Immergut “Manscaping: The Tangle of Nature, Culture, and Male Body Hair” Day2: Lecture Topic: Anthony Giddens & the Body as Identity Reading: Jia Tolentino “Outdoor Voices Blurs the Lines Between Working Out and Everything Else”, Paul Flannery “Extreme Athleticism Is the New Midlife Crisis” Day3: Lecture Topic: Transgression & Intimacy I Podcasts: Give Theory a Chance w/ Neil Gong Reading: NYTimes ‘Gotham Girls Roller Derby’, NYTimes ‘Bump, Tumble, Go Faster! In Egypt, Roller Derby is Real Life’ Photo Essay: Inside the Ring of Underground Wrestling Day4: Lecture Topic: Transgression & Intimacy II Podcasts: interview with Celia from Roc Pole Fitness Reading: S. Newmahr “Living on the Edge” Day5: Lecture Topic: Pierre Bourdieu & The Body as Capital Reading: L. Wacquant “‘Pugs at Work’: Bodily Capital and Bodily Labour Among Professional Boxers”, Jennifer Wesely “Exotic Dancing and the Negotiations of Identity” Day6: Lecture Topic: Iris Marion Young & the Gendered Body Reading: Andrea Long Chu “The Emily Ratajkowski You’ll Never See”, Emily Rataikowski “K-Spa” Day7: Lecture Topic: Michel Foucault, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, and the Power of Discourse Reading: Joseph Bernstein “Young Men Seek Answers to an Age-Old Question: How to Be Hot”, Abigail Saguy “What is Wrong w Fat” Day8: Lecture Topic: Cognition & the Cultural Triangle (Smells & Sounds) Podcasts: Through line: A History of Scent Reading: J. Sazena “The Limits of the Lunchbox Movement” S. Suh “Familiar Foreign Food: Southern Style barbecue in Seoul” D9: Consultation Day
Bibliography:	Required readings: I will share digital copies of all readings. Audio/Video files: I will also share podcasts to listen to via email.

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