240118 SE Seminar Individual Specialisation I (2023S)

Reproduction has been at the center of feminist concern, whether to fight for reproductive justice at the political level, to seek good care practices, or to be represented in the design of reproductive technologies.

The framework of reproductive justice has been coined by black feminists in the US and is essential in feminist concerns regarding bodily autonomy and care. It goes beyond pro-choice or pro-life discussions and includes the problems and issues of marginalized groups. This entails problems of accessibility of certain reproductive care practices such as abortion, contraceptives, IVF, childbirth, sex education to name a few. Hence, legality does not constitute the only sight for discussion. Reproductive care, even when accessible to all, often requires a feminist analysis of the care practices that are being enacted. For this, we will ask questions about good care and about when this care can be considered feminist. Furthermore, available technologies might not cater to everyone and exclude people that end up being ignored, like modern birth control methods for people with sperm. Power asymmetries, gender, and sexuality shape reproductive care and technologies.

We will engage with the concepts of reproductive justice, reproductive care, and reproductive technologies, take a closer look at the care practices within reproductive health, and engage with technologies in the field of reproduction to understand them from a feminist technoscience perspective.

This class will be used to think about reproduction as a feminist concern, discuss the papers thoroughly and establish an understanding of the named frameworks. We will think together and unpack how we, as researchers, can contribute to the struggles and activism in this field.

Besides engaging with the more general frameworks, this course will focus on the following cases and discuss them from an intersectional perspective: Contraceptive technologies and their asymmetries; the politics of abortion care; childbirth and obstetric violence; and queer reproductive justice issues.

The course is designed interactively and some parts will be given in a workshop format, where participants are invited and welcome to co-create the space.