Prosthetic limbs

Seminar 3

Using two case studies, we will explore what responses to the extreme physical trauma caused particularly (but not exclusively) by war can tell us about the roles of gender, class, and ability in shaping beliefs about the pursuit of human perfection. Our first case study looks at the emergence of the prosthetics industry after the US civil war. The second looks at the very different history of the Jaipur prosthesis for areas literally torn apart by landmines.

Weekly questions:

• Do the physical and/or psychical wounds of war mark or mar male perfection in wartime?
• Is human perfection necessarily functional perfection?
• Is 'perfection' universal, or culturally specific -- and why?
• Can we separate ‘perfection’ from gender (and other) norms?
• How do highly gendered medical diagnosis and responses to trauma reflect social and cultural beliefs?
• How did diagnostic categories intended for specific societally privileged groups become available to much wider and more diverse populations?

Readings: See Talis