Synopses & Reviews
Plastic surgery, obesity, anorexia, pregnancy, prescription drugs, disability, piercings, steroids, and sex re-assignment surgery: over the past two decades there have been major changes in the ways we understand, treat, alter, and care for our bodies.
The Body Reader is a compelling, cutting-edge, and timely collection that provides a close look at the emergence of the study of the body.
From prenatal genetic testing and “t;manscaping”; to televideo cybersex and the “meth economy,” this innovative work digs deep into contemporary lifestyles and current events to cover key concepts and theories about the body. A combination of twenty one classic readings and original essays, the contributors highlight gender, race, class, ability, and sexuality, paying special attention to bodies that are at risk, bodies that challenge norms, and media representations of the body. Ultimately, The Body Reader makes it clear that the body is not neutral—it is the entry point into cultural and structural relationships, emotional and subjective experiences, and the biological realms of flesh and bone.
Contributors: Patricia Hill Collins, Karen Dias, H. Hugh Floyd, Jr., Arthur Frank, Sander L. Gilman, Gillian Haddow, Richard Huggins, Matthew Immergut, L:ea Kent, Kristen Karlberg, Steve Kroll-Smith, Mary Kosut, Jarvis Jay Masters, Lisa Jean Moore, Tracey Owens Patton, William J. Peace, Jason Pine, Eric Plemons, Barbara Katz Rothman, Edward Slavishak, Phillip Vannini, and Dennis Waskul.
Review
“The Body Reader makes you want to sit down immediately and browse, and the reading pays off. The essays are wide-ranging, and each covers its topic with scope and depth. Covering theory, praxis, and critique, this anthology is sure to be a favorite for courses in sociology of the body, disability studies, and a variety of women's/gender studies subjects, including science and technology. I highly recommend it!”
-Judith Lorber,author of Breaking the Bowls: Degendering and Feminist Change
Review
“A powerful exploration of the many ways that bodies and embodiment matter. The editors have carefully selected a mix of classic and original articles, and their section introductions alone will prove an invaluable resource for researchers and teachers. This smart collection is certain to shape the interdisciplinary field of body studies.”
-Janice Irvine,author of Disorders of Desire: Sexuality and Gender in Modern American Sexology
Review
“This collection of essays provides a rich smorgasbord of scholarly approaches to the body, its many meanings and experiences. For readers who want to savor the inter-disciplinarity of this exciting genre of cultural studies, this is an important book to read and have on your shelf.”
-Joan Jacobs Brumberg,author of The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls
Review
“The Body Reader makes you want to sit down immediately and browse, and the reading pays off. The essays are wide-ranging, and each covers its topic with scope and depth. Covering theory, praxis, and critique, this anthology is sure to be a favorite for courses in sociology of the body, disability studies, and a variety of women's/gender studies subjects, including science and technology. I highly recommend it!”
- Judith Lorber, author of Breaking the Bowls: Degendering and Feminist Change
“A powerful exploration of the many ways that bodies and embodiment matter. The editors have carefully selected a mix of classic and original articles, and their section introductions alone will prove an invaluable resource for researchers and teachers. This smart collection is certain to shape the interdisciplinary field of body studies.”
- Janice Irvine, author of Disorders of Desire: Sexuality and Gender in Modern American Sexology
“This collection of essays provides a rich smorgasbord of scholarly approaches to the body, its many meanings and experiences. For readers who want to savor the inter-disciplinarity of this exciting genre of cultural studies, this is an important book to read and have on your shelf.”
- Joan Jacobs Brumberg, author of The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls
Review
"The Body Reader provides an excellent series of in-depth discussions of important issues that are realted to body image and personal identity, as well as of social and cultural perceptions and values. The presentations are definitive, refreshingly original , insightful, and well written. The interdisciplinary approaches to this important topic have been skillfully blended and organized by the editors. This is a theoretically important set of readings that deserves a wide readership among a wide variety of behavioral and biological scientists."-James A. Moses Jr.,American Psychological Association
Review
"Anyone looking for a research idea or seeking inspiration to write about her or his own embodiment from a scholarly perpective is likely to find it in The Body Reader. This reader is a fascinating read."-Joan C. Chrisler, Jennifer Bessette,Springer Science and Business Media Journal
Review
"Pinn's reflective forays into and proposals for the study of embodiment in black theological thought constitute his most substantive work since his first book on the implications of theodicy for black theology... Pinn's great strength is to emphasize an aesthetic methodology. His most creative chapters elaborate on the theme of the body in black music--from spirituals and blues to rap, particularly in the contributions of Tupac Shakur."-CHOICE,
Review
“Pinn is one of the grand philosophers wrestling with the problem of evil. This masterful and magisterial book confirms his deserved reputation.”
-Cornel West,Princeton University
Review
“A challenging intellectual reflection on the development and future of a new black theological discourse, focusing on the black body.”
-James H. Cone,Charles Augustus Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary
Synopsis
An essential collection of readings on cultural, social, and emotional understandings of the body
Plastic surgery, obesity, anorexia, pregnancy, prescription drugs, disability, piercings, steroids, and sex re-assignment surgery: over the past two decades there have been major changes in the ways we understand, treat, alter, and care for our bodies. The Body Reader is a compelling, cutting-edge, and timely collection that provides a close look at the emergence of the study of the body.
From prenatal genetic testing and "manscaping"; to televideo cybersex and the "meth economy," this innovative work digs deep into contemporary lifestyles and current events to cover key concepts and theories about the body. A combination of twenty one classic readings and original essays, the contributors highlight gender, race, class, ability, and sexuality, paying special attention to bodies that are at risk, bodies that challenge norms, and media representations of the body. Ultimately, The Body Reader makes it clear that the body is not neutral--it is the entry point into cultural and structural relationships, emotional and subjective experiences, and the biological realms of flesh and bone.
Contributors: Patricia Hill Collins, Karen Dias, H. Hugh Floyd, Jr., Arthur Frank, Sander L. Gilman, Gillian Haddow, Richard Huggins, Matthew Immergut, L: ea Kent, Kristen Karlberg, Steve Kroll-Smith, Mary Kosut, Jarvis Jay Masters, Lisa Jean Moore, Tracey Owens Patton, William J. Peace, Jason Pine, Eric Plemons, Barbara Katz Rothman, Edward Slavishak, Phillip Vannini, and Dennis Waskul.
Synopsis
Black theology tends to be a theology about no-body. Though one might assume that black and womanist theology have already given significant attention to the nature and meaning of black bodies as a theological issue, this inquiry has primarily taken the form of a focus on issues relating to liberation, treating the body in abstract terms rather than focusing on the experiencing of a material, fleshy reality. By focusing on the body as a physical entity and not just a metaphorical one, Pinn offers a new approach to theological thinking about race, gender, and sexuality.
According to Pinn, the body is of profound theological importance. In this first text on black theology to take embodiment as its starting point and its goal, Pinn interrogates the traditional source materials for black theology, such as spirituals and slave narratives, seeking to link them to materials such as photography that highlight the theological importance of the body. Employing a multidisciplinary approach spanning from the sociology of the body and philosophy to anthropology and art history, Embodiment and the New Shape of Black Theological Thought pushes black theology to the next level.
About the Author
Lisa Jean Moore is Professor of Sociology and Womens Studies and Coordinator of Gender Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. She is author of
Sperm Counts: Overcome by Mans Most Precious Fluid and co-author of
Missing Bodies: The Politics of Visibility and
Buzz: Urban Beekeeping and the Power of the Bee. She is also co-editor of the collection
The Body Reader and, with Monica Casper, oversees the series
Biopolitics: Medicine, Technoscience, and Health in the Twenty-First Century for NYU Press.
Mary Kosut is a cultural sociologist and Associate Professor of Media, Society, and the Arts and Gender Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. She is editor of The Encyclopedia of Gender in Media, co-editor of The Body Reader: Essential Social and Cultural Readings, and author of Buzz: Urban Beekeeping and the Power of the Bee.