406762 SE Gender, Technoscience and Reproduction (2005S)

This seminar will examine critically how reproductive technologies come to have gendered and political meanings. The seminar focuses on how both reproductive technologies and gender identities are negotiated in different ways as different socio-technical arenas (laboratory science, clinical encounters, and government regulations) and in differently cultural settings. Students will gain knowledge of how technoscience reproduces and/or transforms representations of bodies, fertility, fetuses and gender identities. The seminar also seeks to examine the role of 'virtual users' in technological development and implementation and the ways in which the actual users are trying to make sense of reproductive technologies and assess their effects on heath and quality of life. Finally, the seminar will address theoretical debates on political and normative issues of research in gender studies and the sociology of science and technology.