Dismodern Body: Prof. Kupetz

Overview

Idealized and naturalized, treated metaphorically or literally, the human body has long been a favorite subject of artists. Centered in American literature and theory of the 20th Century, this course examines the construction of "body" and its (re)presentations, specifically bodies with visible and non-visible impairments, as well as the social construction of "disability." Additionally, it considers how contemporary thinking about the body might augur a "dismodern" sensibility that reconfigures other areas of cultural inquiry.

This course utilizes service-learning as a pedagogy for contextualizing the theoretical and literary material. Research shows that people learn best when their reading, writing, and thinking relate to challenges and needs within their communities. In this course, students have the opportunity to interact with people who have various disabilities in a variety of settings. By working on site with people with impairments and with social-service providers, the students acquire context for thinking about representations of the body in various texts, as well as new opinions on people with disabilities and the assumptions dominant, ableist culture espouses. Students spend a total of six-to-eight (6-8) hours each semester outside of class meeting with social-service agencies and their members and clients.

Social-Service Agencies Partnering with Dismodern Body

• C-PARC
• Sarah Todd Memorial Home
• The Stevens Center
• UCP
• UCP: Children's Center
• Tri-County Association for the Blind

Texts to Consider

Novels

• Dunn, Katherine. Geek Love.
• Lethem, Jonathan. Motherless Brooklyn.
• Moody, Rick. Purple America.

Short Fiction

• Carver, Raymond. "Fat."
• Dubus, Andre. "The Fat Girl"
• Hemingway, Ernest. "Get a Seeing-Eye Dog."
• O'Conner, Flanner. "Good Country People."

---. "The Life You Save Could Be Your Own."

• Wallace, David Foster. "Interview #40" from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.

Theoretical Work

• Davis, Lennard. The Disability Studies Reader.

---. Bending Over Backwards.

• Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. Extraordinary Bodies.

Films

• Garden State.
• Freaks.
• The Station Agent.
• What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

Additional Resources

Links

• Dismodern Blog

Information Useful for Students

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