WGSS 238
Science, Gender and Power
Last Offered Spring 2013
Division II
Cross-listed PSCI 239
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Class Details

This course considers debates in feminism about the relationship between science, gender and power in politics. On the one hand, shifting ideas about gender have influenced the development of the sciences through history: for example, some feminists argue that science has historically been premised upon a view of women as objects, not subjects, of knowledge. On the other hand, shifting ideas about science have strongly influenced the development of feminist theory and practice: for example, debates about reproductive rights are often couched in terms of a conflict between reliable scientific knowledge of embryos, STDs, etc. and an unscientific, patriarchal worldview. Do science and technology serve to transform or reinforce power imbalances based on gender, race, and sexuality? Should feminist theory embrace objectivity and model itself upon scientific procedures of knowledge production? Or should feminists reject objectivity as a myth told by the powerful about their own knowledge-claims and develop an alternative approach to knowledge? What is “objectivity” anyway, and how has this norm changed through history? What kinds of alternatives to objectivity exist, and should they, too, count as “science”? Rather than treating science as a monolith, we will endeavor to understand the implications of various sciences–as practiced and envisioned in various, historically specific situations–for gender and politics. Readings may include texts by Rene Descartes, Andreas Vesalius, Londa Schiebinger, Anne Fausto-Sterling, Helen Longino, Nancy Harstock, Sandra Harding, bell hooks, Donna Haraway, Mary Hawkesworth, and Octavia Butler.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 25
Expected: 21
Class#: 3653
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: three 5- to 7-page papers and class participation
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: Political Science majors and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies majors
Distributions: Division II
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
PSCI 239 Division II WGSS 238 Division II
Attributes: PSCI Political Theory Courses
WGSS Theory Courses

Class Grid

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