Full Description
The body is a physical entity and a symbolic artifact. It is both created in the world of nature and also physically reconstructed by a culture. The body is both an internal, subjective environment and simultaneously an object for others to observe and evaluate. Bodily practices, woven within a dense web of social relationships, are then both individual and collective- the individual body expresses cultural values, rules, and regulations in the daily routine of living. The American Body in Context: An Anthology is an interdisciplinary investigation of these body relationships, examining the American historical and contemporary constructions of the body. Through readings and exercises, this new book allows readers to explore interrelationships between the individualized and the constructed nature of embodied experiences. This comprehensive text draws together a wide variety of analyses and demonstrates the interdependence between the individual and the structural (re)productions of embodied experiences in the U.S. This is an excellent text for courses in American studies, American society, cultural and social anthropology, and gender studies.
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Part 2 I. Minds and Bodies
Chapter 3 Descartes Goes to Hollywood: Mind, Body and Gender in Contemporary Cyborg Cinema
Chapter 4 The Lived Experience of Disability
Chapter 5 Souls of Silicon
Part 6 II. Social Bodies
Chapter 7 The Body in Consumer Culture
Chapter 8 The Embodiment of Masculinity: Cultural, Psychological and Behavioral Dimensions
Chapter 9 'Material Girl': The Effacements of Postmodern Culture
Chapter 10 Michael Jordan's Family Values: Marketing, Meaning, and Post-Reagan America
Chapter 11 Concord Watch Advertisement
Part 12 III. Disciplined Bodies
Chapter 13 On Blowing One's Nose
Chapter 14 Medicine as an Institution of Social Control
Chapter 15 Put Your Hands in Your Own Laps: Disciplining the Student Body
Chapter 16 . The Visible Man: The Execution and Electronic Afterlife of Joseph Paul Jernigan
Part 17 IV. Resisting Bodies
Chapter 18 Body Narratives, Body Boundaries
Chapter 19 Firm But Shapely, Fit But Sexy, Strong But Thin: The Postmodern Aerobicizing Female Bodies
Chapter 20 Heavy Judgment: A Sister Talks About the Pain of 'Living Large'
