Bodies Politic, the 2026-27 Interdisciplinary Humanities Center public events series, will focus on questions of sovereignty, control, and resistance in relation to individual and collective bodies. Throughout the year, speakers will examine how regimes of power attempt to regulate physical and metaphorical bodies as well as practices that resist, disrupt, or subvert those attempts. From human and more-than-human bodies to bodies of land and water, from activist coalitions and social movements to agents of political violence, Bodies Politic will explore the states and stakes of politicized bodies.
We seek suggestions for speakers working at the intersection of bodies and politics from diverse fields, including, but not limited to, medical and legal humanities, environmental studies, political science, media studies, and the literary, visual and performing arts.
Please contact IHC Director Susan Derwin (derwin@ihc.ucsb.edu) with your suggestions for speakers.