Body Studies: An Introduction [Paperback]

In recent years, body studies has expanded rapidly, becoming an increasingly popular field of study within anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies. This groundbreaking textbook takes the topics and theories from these disciplines, and combines them into one single, easily accessible text for students.

Body Studiesis a comprehensive textbook on the social and cultural uses and meanings of the body, for use in undergraduate college courses. Its clear, accessible chapters explore, among other things:

• the measurement and classification of the human body
• illness and healing
• the racialized body
• the gendered body
• cultural perceptions of beauty
• new bodily technologies.

This book investigates how power plays an important role in the uses, views, and shapes of the bodyas well as how the body is invested with meaning. Body Studiesprovides a wealth of pedagogic features for ease of teaching and learning: ethnographic case studies, boxes covering contemporary controversies, news stories, and legislative issues, as well as chapter summaries, further reading recommendations, and key terms. This book will appeal to students and teachers of sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, womens studies, gender studies, and ethnic studies.

Part I: Understanding the Body from a Social and Cultural Perspective  1. Introduction: Theorizing the Body  Part II: The Scientific and Biomedical Body  2. Healthy and Diseased Bodies  3. Aging Bodies  4. Reproducing Bodies  5. Dead Bodies  Part III: Mapping Difference onto Bodies 6. Racialized and Colonized Bodies  7. Gendered Bodies  8. Sexualized Bodies  9. Classed Bodies&amls4