180078 SE Phenomenology of the Body (2016W)

Contents:
Bodily experience is a central theme in the writings of many phenomenologists. Phenomenologists maintain that the body is not merely an object of experience, with which a subject of experience is intimately but contingently associated. The body is also that through which we perceive and understand the world, and our embodied nature shapes every aspect of our experience. The first part of this course will reflect upon the nature of bodily experience in the writings of Merleau-Ponty and Sartre. In the second part, we will turn to the work of more recent authors, in order to explore the diversity of bodily experience. Themes to be addressed include skilled bodily performance, gender, race, illness, and pain.

Methods:
*focused readings of key articles, book chapters, and book sections
*individual and group presentations in seminars
*‘mini-lectures’ by the seminar leader
*detailed critical discussion of texts, themes, concepts, and claims
*writing two short essays, each focusing on a specific text

Aims:
Students will:
*become familiar with historical and contemporary phenomenological work on bodily experience
*learn how to interpret, clarify, and critically discuss texts and ideas
*prepare and give a presentation on a specific text
*learn how to write short, specifically focused, well-structured scholarly essays