Poetics of the Body 1

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2011:

None

The Poetics of the Body is a VCA subject offered to University of Melbourne undergraduates.

This subject will explore the ways in which historical and contemporary discourses are constructed around the human body in the visual and performing arts, politics, law, philosophy, medicine and science. Within university departments, study of the human body is the object of discrete and sometimes competing areas of knowledge. The Poetics of the Body challenges this compartmentalization. It offers a wide, multidisciplinary perspective on the body.

During the Renaissance the practice of drawing upon various traditions - humanist and scholastic, literary and scientific, theoretical and practical - led to rich theoretical interpretations and representations of the human body. Much of this knowledge was framed by deep spiritual, aesthetic and ethical concerns. Since the 17th century, investigation of the human body has splintered into discipline-specific fields of study. By the beginning of the 21st century the fragmentation of knowledge about the body has dominated. The Poetics of the Body offers a unique and inclusive approach. The assumption is that the body can direct research. It is not only an object of investigation, but also the vehicle through which knowledge of the world is gathered.

Underpinning the Poetics of the Body is a recognition of the value of interdiscipinarity and the role it plays in invigorating and enriching critical vocabularies and representations. There is also recognition of the value of theory derived in practice. Through experiential studio/ laboratory, and lecture/ tutorial based learning, students will explore the ways in which historical and contemporary discourses are constructed around the human body

The Poetics of the Body aims to:

• Introduce students to historical representations and interpretations of the body;
• Familiarize students with a range of discipline-specific technical and theoretical terms by bringing them into plain English to facilitate communication;
• Enrich student’s vocabularies and to explore a range of assumptions within disciplines, eg: the “objectivity” of science verses the “subjectivity” of aesthetic judgement;
• Provide the ground for new modes of understanding and representation of the body;
• Integrate practice with theory through aligning studio/laboratory with lecture/tutorial based learning;
• Contribute to and enrich current debate on the human body;
• Engage students with culturally diverse practices and customs associated with the body;

• Intellectual Journal: (30%) the journal will serve as repository for ideas taken from lectures, tutorial/ workshops, readings from the Course Reader, as well as performances, exhibitions and museum visits. Students will map and connect ideas encountered in this subject to their main disciplines. The journal should reflect each students growing intellectual curiosity and capacity to link specific themes to their broader context. Diversity of writing, graphic notation and imaging will be encouraged. The journal is also a place to record the different vocabularies and definitions encountered in lectures.
• Project: (40%) project to include both theoretical and practical components . Students will select from a menu of projects.
• Group Presentation: (30%) Students will form small groups to present to the tutorial group some of the key ideas from the weeks reading from the Course Reader.

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This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

At the completion of the Poetics of the Body subject students should be able to:

• Exhibit a sound working knowledge of the role of the human body across its various discipline specific domains;
• Demonstrate interpretive abilities across a range of academic disciplines;
• Confidently communicate, both orally and in writing, opinions, ideas and observations with regard to theory and practice of the body, in group and individual situations;
• Participate effectively as a team member in interdisciplinary projects with a shared focus;
• Embody an informed respect for the principles, protocols, discipline and ethics of interdisciplinary scholarship and practice;
• Demonstrate capacities for scholarly analysis and artistic imagination, creativity, transformation and interpretation;
• Contribute to a range of disciplines as collaborators and leaders;
• Contribute in an informed and considered manner to current scientific and ethical debates on the human body.