Culture, Embodiment and the Senses
MIT OpenCourseWare offers the full materials for this anthropology subject examining how societies construct and value sensory experience. The course traces Western philosophical debates over mind, body, and emotion, including the historical privileging of sight and reason over smell, taste, and touch as legitimate ways of knowing. Readings and discussions bring in cross-cultural traditions that challenge these scientific and physiological models, treating sensation as a social and cultural product rather than a purely individual response. Students examine how discourse about the senses reflects contested fields of power and knowledge production. Materials include the syllabus, readings list, and assignments as posted by MIT, free to access under an open license, with no certificate offered since this is a self-study OCW subject rather than an instructor-led course.