Bodies: A Digital Companion

Nobodies - Discarded, Trashed and Forgotten: Introduction and Contents

We’ve all heard the epithets (or maybe even used them at one point): Nobody. Loser. Human garbage. Deplorables.  Junkie. Trailer Trash.  Illegals. Vermin. Geezer. Gimp. Thug.  What does it mean to embody such labels?  Who are the people we either don’t see or deliberately choose not to recognize?  Who are the shunned, the castigated? Why, for example, do older bodies become repulsive to us? Why do we turn away from “street people”? Laugh derisively at the clothing and bodies of “People of Walmart” or become fascinated with reality TV shows like “Honey Boo Boo”?  What does it mean to embody the label of “illegal alien”?  A black or brown body that’s been incarcerated?  A body that’s infected with HIV/AIDS or addicted to heroin?  How we perceive and experience these types of bodies influences debate about their representation in media, healthcare and technology, often affecting local, state and national politics and subsequent legislation. This course examines the impact of socioeconomic realities on the minds and bodies of our culture's dispossessed.  


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