LC663 Body Culture and Society

Write a case study of 2500 words on the same topic as you chose from the list of options below for assignment CW1 (the annotated bibliography). This case study will critically analyse the construction of the body and embodiment (i.e. lived bodily experience) in contemporary society and culture, and evaluate concepts and theoretical accounts through which the body and embodiment are understood.

The case study should be constructed in the style of a portfolio of a range ‘real world’ empirical sources (e.g. policy documents, media reports, documentaries, works of art or literature) that illustrate aspects of the ways in which the bodies in question are represented and produced, and how they are experienced. Your analyses should be informed by, and should critically engage with, relevant theoretical literature, and employ additional empirical evidence to support claims where appropriate.

While you can focus on aspects of the topic you consider most significant, your analysis should substantially address the following three issues:

• Embodied experiences of health and/or illness (which may include mental health/illness, wellbeing, etc) and the social construction and patterning of these;
• Representations of bodies in art and/or media; and
• Forms of regulation or social control of bodies, which may include medical and/or media discourses and practices.

Include a brief introduction identifying your topic and providing some context for the analysis that will follow, and a conclusion reflecting on the significance of key points you have made.

Possible topics are listed below, as a reminder:

• Media representations of women’s and/or men’s bodies
• The anorexic body and social influences
• Fat bodies and obesity prevention
• Intersex bodies
• Cultures of body enhancement and/or body shaming
• Tattoos and body marking
• FGM and modification of the female body
• Changing social meanings of HIV/AIDS
• Transgender bodies in society
• Meanings and politics of Muslim veils (e.g. hijab, niqab, burqa)
• The black body in society and culture
• The influence of pornography on sexuality
• Embodied experiences of illness

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO 1 Demonstrate a systematic and critical evaluation of the theoretical and social constructions of embodiment and the body in late modernity.

LO 2 Demonstrate critical evaluation of the widening scope of science and medicine and the media as forms of social control in relation to the body.

LO 3 Critically analyse and evaluate the social influences on the body and how they are represented.

LO 4 Critically evaluate current theoretical approaches about health, illness and social patterning of health, in relation to policies and “healthiest” societies.

LO 5 Critically appraise the relationship between the body, art and media.

Task requirements

• All work to be submitted as Arial 12 font with 1.5 line spacing.
• State the total number of words used. Put this at the end of the bibliography, e.g. “Word count: 1,021)”.

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed on the extent to which it demonstrates your achievement of the stated learning outcomes for this assignment (see above), and will also be assessed against the following criteria:

• Knowledge and understanding of relevant arguments, research, policy and debates
• Appropriate use of relevant theory, concepts and empirical evidence to inform annotations on sources referenced
• Critical analysis
• Quality of academic writing
• Quality and appropriateness of resources used
• Accurate referencing

Have you read and understood the assessment criteria?

Have you met the learning outcomes? You will lose marks and your work may even   be failed if you have not.

Have you demonstrated you can think and write critically in the completed work?    

Have you maintained an academic tone throughout your work? Is your work formal, focused, developed and clear?

Have you checked that the referencing in your assignment is in line with your programme requirements?

Have you proof-read your work and used spellcheck software to check your spelling and grammar?

Have you checked the presentation of your work is as specified by your tutor, for example, are font size, colour, style, line spacing and margins as the tutor specified?

Have you kept to the word count (or equivalent)? If you are not sure, check with your tutor.

Can you confirm that the work submitted is your own and not plagiarised?