Cultural and scientific understandings of the body and its significance

Are you interested in studying gender studies at an advanced level, broadening and developing your perspectives on important current social issues and how gender orders are changing? This course will develop your ability to reason analytically and independently about the relationship between scientific and cultural/political understandings of the body, as regards reproductive politics and its significance for the construction of difference at the intersections between gender, ethnicity, sexuality, technology and power. The context is global, using feminist and postcolonial perspectives to examine historical and current research into the body and reproductive politics. Specific topics include: feminist and postcolonial critiques of scientific epistemologies and practices; historical and contemporary constructions of difference through biomedical practices and regulatory policies in a global perspective. You will also examine the implications of scientific development for the cultural and political construction of gender and corporeality and the resulting transformations of parenthood, normality/deviance, self-determination and citizenship.

Master’s level studies require greater self-reliance than Bachelor’s level, and this course presumes in-depth knowledge of feminist and postcolonial theories. Teaching is seminar based, with introductory lectures, and the course is examined through active participation in the seminars, written assignments and peer review exercises.

Information to doctoral students

The course is also open to doctoral students. Before applying, doctoral students should consult their supervisor to ensure that the course can be credited as part of their doctoral programme

Course design

The course literature offers a broad and critical overview of current research related to the global politics of reproduction. The course includes planning and leading one of the joint seminars, and ends with the students writing and presenting a scientific paper, as well as giving each other feedback, at a "mini-conference" focusing on the course's theme.

You can take the course both on campus and remotely via Zoom.