The Politics of Beauty and Literature

Catalog description

Does having a tattoo hurt your chances of receiving your dream job? Does wearing lipstick make you look less intelligent? Why is it so important to have a good hair day? These are some questions taken up by the authors we are reading in this course -- and the answers to which require a complex consideration of one's social position in terms of gender, race, social class, sexual identity, and ability. In this communication-intensive course, we will examine how literary authors engage with the politics of beauty and appearance in their works in order to call attention to important issues of equality and access to opportunity. We will read the works of poets, short story writers, and novelists, alongside those of cultural critics, philosophers, and filmmakers who call attention to the specifically-political nature of body size, hair, skin tone, modes of dress, and other body issues. Our ultimate goal is to uncover and analyze the complex, intersectional power relations involved in past and present beauty standards. Offered as ENGL 280 and WGST 280 . Counts as a Communication Intensive course. Counts as a Human Diversity & Commonality course.