1999, The Body and Its Disciplines from Cell to Self

The organizational theme of this year’s Institute is “Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Body: From Cell to Self.” This topic has been chosen to mirror many recent intra-campus initiatives and discussions. Biologists, for example, have examined comparative amino acid sequence analysis using an evolutionary approach. Meanwhile, an undergraduate English and Women’s Studies course examined the relationship of gender to the “Medicalized Body.” Art historians have begun to organize a course on the visual codification of the body. And sociologists and lawyers will soon begin to discuss the relationships among legal, philosophical, and sociological perspectives affecting the body politic. Departments as seemingly divergent as music, medicine, dance, and engineering have begun related projects. These varied endeavors speak not only to the very different definitions the term “body” evokes within different disciplines, but also suggests a range of productive discussions that might arise among them. In the Institute, we aim to view “the body” from many perspectives: as physical entity, as culturally constructed phenomenon, as site of resistance and, possibly, as academic trope. Sessions will thus be structured around representing, questioning, and deconstructing this term. In the process we hope to build upon recent discussions about the body in ways that will encourage the formation of new curricular and research initiatives.