COLLEGE PARK, Md. — This spring, the University of Maryland will offer a new course titled “Intro to Fat Studies: Fatness, Blackness and Their Intersections.” The three-credit course, taught by Professor Sydney Lewis, will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays and aims to explore fatness as an intersectional concept, with a focus on its relationship to Blackness.
According to the course description, students will analyze fatness as a form of human difference, subject to privilege and discrimination, and how it intersects with systems of oppression such as gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and ability. The course will utilize a multidisciplinary approach, drawing from the humanities and social sciences, and position fatness as a social justice issue.
Exploring Liberation Through Activism and the Arts
The course concludes with an exploration of fat liberation, emphasizing performing arts and activism as tools to challenge “fatmisia”—a term used to describe hatred of fatness, as opposed to “fatphobia,” which denotes fear of fatness. The course description highlights how such liberation efforts aim to advocate for the rights and dignity of all body types.
Offered through the university’s Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), the course aligns with other department offerings that also address intersections of identity, including “Gender, Race and Computing,” “Quare/Queer Contentions: Exploration of Sexualities in the Black Community,” and “Feminist, Critical Race, and Queer Theories.”
Professor Lewis and Past Courses
Professor Sydney Lewis, whose academic interests include Black feminist theory, Black queer theory, and disability justice, is leading the course. Her teaching philosophy seeks to bridge the gap between academia, art, and activism, as noted in her university profile.
Previously, in winter 2022, Lewis taught “Bodies in Contention,” a course examining societal discomfort with marginalized bodies—such as non-white, fat, disabled, queer, intersex, and transgender bodies—and how these perceptions shape the understanding of body types as social constructs.
When contacted for comment, Lewis did not respond to inquiries from The Center Square.
A Growing Academic Focus
The University of Maryland’s WGSS department reflects an expanding trend in academia to investigate the intersections of identity, oppression, and social justice. This new course highlights the university’s commitment to fostering critical discussions on underexplored topics, particularly as they relate to marginalized communities and their experiences.
