Dangerous Bodies: Cross-Dressing, Asia, Transgression (EM)

Subject associations
EAS 314 / COM 398 / GSS 314 / ASA 314
Term
Spring 2022
Instructors
Erin Y. Huang
Registrar description

This course examines "dangerous bodies" - bodies that transgress existing gender and racial norms in Chinese and Sinophone cultures. Situated at the intersection of literary, film, performance, gender and ethnic studies, this course provides an introduction to the shifting social meanings of the body in relation to historical masculinity, femininity, and Chineseness. We examine different cross-dressed figures, ranging from Mulan, cross-dressed male opera singer, WWII Japanese/Chinese spy, to experimental queer cinema, in a study that unpacks whether these transgressive bodies represent social change or a tool for restoring traditional norms.