ENGL 029. The Fat Renaissance.

Depictions of body size in early modern England could be connected to ideas about social cohesion and differences in wealth, gender, religion, and sexuality, among other considerations. This course will look closely at some of those representations, especially in Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean drama, in relation to the widespread present-day obsession with bodily regulation and control of body size. The course will be taught from the perspective of conscious respect for bodily diversity. We'll look at plays like Bartholomew Fair, A Chaste Maid at Cheapside, and Comedy of Errors, considering representations of hunger, "excess," and pleasure in the context of larger social forces.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Johnson.
Fall 2024. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature

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