Ontological Explorations

Abstract

In an effort to investigate the epistemological implications of a stable notion of ontology, and thus concerns about bodily determinism, the author offers narratives that explore how the material body and discursive formations interdependently constitute one's ontology. Each narrative posits that ontology is fluid and that interests in the ontological dynamics of the body cut across multiple and varied experiences. The author examines the ways bodies are constrained and regulated through both discourse and material conditions by examining a sick body, a fat body, a dancing body, and an academic body. Although each narrative begins from a different place, they all explicate the relationships that exist among and between epistemology, ontology, materiality, and discursivity.

Keywords

ontology epistemology materiality discursivity narrative

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