Bodies Like Ours: Literary Figures in Flux

This seminar interrogates the human body in literary works from several genres and over broad spans of time. Our readings challenge the durable construct of the fleshly creature by morphing the body from one state to another: human, nonhuman, and maybe a little bit of each. When we encounter the cyborg, the werewolf, or the ent, with what very human problems are we engaging? These metamorphosizing bodies invite us to engage both critically and creatively with acts of othering, with bodily experiences, with both vulnerability and power. Together, let's read about bodies that are always in the process of becoming.