Bridging the Disciplines - Wonder Woman: Bondage and Liberation
Join Professor Ben Saunders, Department of English, University of Oregon, for an exciting talk that addresses the weird prevalence of bondage imagery in the old Wonder Woman comics and the psycho-sexual theories of William Moulton Marston, the creator of the character. Marston was one of the most interesting people to work in the early comic book industry. He was a professor of psychology fascinated by theories of dominance and submission, a public intellectual, the self-styled "inventor of the lie detector," and a practicing polyamorist. His fascinating life has even been the subject of a movie (Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, 2017).
But how exactly did Marston’s “scientific” theories influence his Wonder Woman comics, and with what literary, historical, and cultural implications? Addressing these questions requires the intellectual perspectives, methodologies, and curiosities of a wide range of disciplines from the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Professor Saunders, who is the founder of the world’s first undergraduate minor in Comics Studies, will adopt such an interdisciplinary focus in what promises to be a highly engaging and relevant talk.
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