The body has become an increasingly significant concept in recent years and this Readeroffers a stimulating overview of the main topics, perspectives and theories surrounding the issue. This broad consideration of the body presents an engagement with a range of social concerns, from the processes of racialization to the vagaries of fashion and performance art, enacted as surgery on the body. Individual sections cover issues such as:

• the body and social (dis)order
• bodies and identities
• bodily norms
• bodies in health and dis-ease
• bodies and technologies.

Containing an extensive critical introduction, contributions from key figures such as Butler, Sedgwick, Martin Scheper-Huges, Haraway and Gilroy, and a series of introductions summarizing each section, this Readeroffers students a valuable practical guide and a thorough grounding in the fascinating topic of the body.