Media, Technology, and the Body

(Graduate and coterm students must register for COMM 286. COMM 186W is only for undergraduates and is offered for 5 units, COMM 286 is offered for 4 units.) This course considers major themes in the cultural analysis of the body in relation to media technologies. How do media and information technologies shape our understanding of the body and concepts of bodily difference such as race, gender, and disability? We will explore both classic theories and recent scholarship to examine how technologies mediate the body and bodily practices in various domains, from entertainment to engineering, politics to product design.