SO378-15 Embodied Inequalities: The Politics of Health and the Environment
Locally and on a planetary scale, it is racialized and marginalized communities that are most affected by climate catastrophe, environmental pollution, and the increasing production of waste, plastics, and other toxic materials. How do environmental issues reshape our understanding of racism?
Medical knowledge and practice are often built around the white, male body as the norm, while various medical treatments are targeted toward specific groups. This reinforces stigma and individualizes health outcomes rather than addressing the social and political conditions that shape illness. What does that mean for how we study questions of health and disease?
Microplastics and air pollution know no borders – neither of the nation-state, the neighborhood, nor of our bodies. Human and animal bodies, the ocean, and the soil now contain ever-growing amounts of synthetic materials. How does this entanglement with “other materials” challenge the idea of firm boundaries between the body and the environment?
These are just some of the questions we explore in this module. More broadly, we ask: How do different forms of inequality manifest at the level of the body?
In this module, you will explore the historical contexts that have led to present-day health inequalities and engage with key theoretical and methodological frameworks from various disciplines, including feminist science and technology studies (STS), medical sociology, environmental sociology, and postcolonial theory. In addition to theoretical texts and empirical case studies, we will also look at artworks, films, and documentaries that deal with “embodied inequalities.” Through a critical engagement with these resources, theoretical notions, historical examples, and contemporary forms of “embodied inequalities,” this module will allow you to develop the analytical and methodological tools necessary to interrogate and address pressing social and environmental injustices.
Key Information
Optional module
15 CATS
Summative Assessment: 3000-word essay (100%)
Teaching: 1 hour lecture & 1 hour seminar per week
Module convenor: Gala RexerLink opens in a new window