Human Care Bears article

In our discussion of "Meant to Be Huge" we started talking about how the normal body is constructed in stories.

This article takes on how "retarded" is used as a term and how the "retarded figure" works in popular culture:

"Human Care Bears: Rahm Emanuel's "retarded" outburst made good headlines, but the way some advocates portray the mentally disabled is far more offensive"

Week 8: The Hunger Games & Constructions of the YA body

Thanks to Brandon, Stephanie, Ashley, Samantha, and Alli who introduced us to some key ideas in feminism and gave us examples of the types of questions on might ask to do a feminist read of a text.

For Tuesday, please read The Hunger Games and write a critical reflection paper in which you draw on feminist and/or Marxist theory. We're working on getting everyone access to the power points, but you can also consult the Tyson text for ideas about what types of questions you might ask.  My biggest piece of advice on the critical reflection papers is to focus on only one topic/question so that you can explore that aspect of the text in more depth. Close readings of quotes and specific support from the text is always valued!

For Thursday, please bring 3 representations of the young adult body. These can be from anywhere and can be any type of text, as long as you have a way to share it with the group. Also, read Quick's "Meant to Be Huge" in preparation for class. We'll use this article to talk about the intersection between disability studies and other critical theories, the construction of the YA body in literature, and what writing strategies we might take from the article to use in the final projects.