Pretty Hurts: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Beauty

Catalog description

As Beyoncé tells us in her song "Pretty Hurts," "Perfection is a disease of a nation." This course takes an interdisciplinary lens to the study of beauty and leverages research in sociology, history, anthropology, business, ethnic studies, and gender studies to examine how beauty is constructed. Students can expect to engage critically with beauty standards and practices around the globe, as well as to learn how intersectional identities shape perceptions and experiences of beauty. Through class discussions, interactive activities, creative projects, and popular media analyses, students will gain a nuanced understanding of why beauty standards exist and what they tell us about racialized and gendered power structures.