What does it mean to inhabit a body in India? This is the primary question that we will attempt to answer during the course of the semester in this seminar. The readings and discussion over the course of the term will parallel the development of the human being from conception, infancy and childhood, adulthood and sexuality, and will end with aging and death. We will take an interdisciplinary approach, and will examine textual materials from an extensive range of sources and time periods. Sources will include selections in translation from medical literature from India’s Āyurvedic traditions as well as readings from religious narratives that deal directly with issues of embodiment and provide powerful metaphors for it. We will also be drawing largely on sociological and anthropological studies of the different forms that embodiment takes, from metaphysical issues on what it means to be “alive” or “dead” and the human body’s connection to land and landscape to careful explorations of the body’s outer surfaces in terms of ritual, ascetic, and strictly sartorial concerns with adornment and fashion. We will also explore the fascinating interfaces between bodybuilding and nation building in India.
Course Info: SAS 104
Fall 2023
Tuesday – 3:00pm – 5:45pm
For Undergraduate and Graduate Students