Henry David Thoreau declared, I stand in awe of my body, expressing a sense of the body as a source of delight, wonder, and even artistic inspiration. Conversely, the body can also be a source of embarrassment, dismay, and disgust. Both the pleasure and the disgust the body can evoke are brought together in the concept of the ¿grotesque body,¿ which will be the theme of this writing seminar. Mikhail Bakhtin claimed that exaggeration, hyperbolism, and excessiveness are ¿fundamental attributes of the grotesque style,¿ and that, as a mode of representation, the grotesque comments on and critiques social realities. In this class we will read, discuss, and write about the ¿grotesque body¿ as it is represented across a variety of cultural texts, including poetry, short stories, and television, in order to ask what critical functions those representations serve. What can the spectacle of a ¿grotesque body¿ convey that an ordinary one can¿t? For what reasons and on what occasions is the grotesque appropriate? Is the grotesque ever ¿appropriate¿? We will consider the function of the ¿grotesque body¿ with respect to issues of gender, race, and class, drawing examples from the past, as well as from our own historical moment, as we work together to write three major essays, each developing skills that will be crucial throughout your college careers.
Ms. Van Kley