420
Alienated Bodies, Selves, and Social Interaction
Alienated Bodies, Selves, and Social Interaction
Monday, 11 July 2016: 16:00-17:30
Location: Seminar 34 (Juridicum)
RC36 Alienation Theory and Research (host committee) Language: English
Human bodies do not escape social norms. They are constantly judged in accordance with such social categories as gender, ethnicity, and class, and also in respect to their ability to meet social expectations concerning beauty, youth, health, appropriate clothing, and choreography. The human body thus becomes an object, rather than a social and conscious self, as well as a target of social control through human auto-control, rather than a means for spontaneous experience of the world. Humans can be said in this sense to lose control over or, in other words, be alienated from their bodies.
Various forms of bodily destruction (eating disorders, drug abuse, self-harm, suicide), bodily modification (piercings, tattoos, implants, plastic surgery), and body-focused political demonstrations (slut walk) may be regarded in modern society as either outcomes of or efforts to overcome bodily alienation. Such activities as meditation, dancing, or experiencing nature may also be viewed as attempts to reconnect with the body and thereby the self as well.
This session will examine such issues as how to conceive of bodily alienation, the processes involved in bodily alienation, as well as the potential consequences of and possible ways of overcoming bodily alienation. Also addressed are the possible ways of overcoming such alienation through social interaction.
Session Organizer: