Gendered Bodies: Race, Sex, and the Cultures of Biology

Gendered Bodies: Race, Sex, and the Cultures of Biology is a Social Science class taught by Jennifer Hamilton.

This course satisfies Division I requirements.

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Course Description
Using primary and secondary materials as well as documentaries and feature films, this course explores conceptualizations and representations of race and sex in various domains of scientific thought. We begin by looking at the histories of race and sex in Western science. We will examine gendered and racialized pathologies, such as hysteria and drapetomania, and consider how scientific thought intersected with larger political and economic movements. We will then move into a discussion of the uses of race and sex in the contemporary life sciences. Why is the pharmaceutical industry developing drugs geared toward different racial groups? How have advances in reproductive technologies challenged or reinforced our understandings of our bodies? Why and how is sexuality a key site of scientific debate? Finally, how has the genomic age reshaped (or reinforced) our understandings of race, sex, and sexuality?

Learning Goals

 * Expressive
 * Multi-Cultural
 * Project-based
 * Presenting
 * Reading
 * Writing

Required Texts
Bell, Susan E. 2009 DES Daughters: Embodied Knowledge and the Transformation of Women's Health Politics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. (T)

Hammonds, Evelynn Maxine, and Rebecca M. Herzig 2008 The Nature of Difference: Sciences of Race in the United States from Jefferson to Genetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (T)

Karkazis, Katrina 2008 Fixing Sex: Intersex, Medical Authority, and Lived Experience. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. (T)

Metzl, Jonathan 2003 Prozac on the Couch: Prescribing Gender in the Era of Wonder Drugs. Durham,NC: Duke University Press. (T)

Moore, Lisa Jean 2007 Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid. New York: New York University Press. (T)

Orr, Jackie 2006 Panic Diaries: A Genealogy of Panic Disorder. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. (T)

Reverby, Susan 2009 Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and Its Legacy. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. (T)

Course Goals
1) To introduce students to the following substantive areas: social studies of science, legal studies, feminist science studies, and cultural anthropology 2) To introduce students to qualitative ethnographic methods and social scientific research methods. 3) To help students to build and improve skills in critical reading and writing. 4) To challenge students to develop new perspectives and to expand their skills of critical thinking. 5) To enable students to design and implement individual project-based work.

Expectations and Requirements
This class is comprised of challenging subject matter and is designed to be discussion-based and cumulative. You are encouraged to be an active participant and listener in class; thus, attendance and preparation are necessary and mandatory. You are expected to complete all readings promptly and to come to class on time with questions and comments. You are also expected to take notes during lectures and discussions.

This is a writing-intensive course. All assignments must be completed promptly and thoroughly in order to receive a final evaluation for the course. Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments will be noted on a student’s evaluation and/or will be reflected in a student’s grade. Consistently late assignments will result in the student being asked to withdraw from the course. More than one unexcused absence throughout the term will result in a “no evaluation.” More than three absences for any reason will result in a “no evaluation.” This includes classes missed during the drop/add period.

If you miss class for any reason, you are responsible for making up any readings/assignments/notes from that day. You should consult the course websites and your peers for work you’ve missed.

Films are an integral part of course materials and may only be viewed in class. Assignments will often be started and worked on during class time so that you can benefit from interactive engagement with me and with your peers.

If you are struggling with course materials or are experiencing other difficulties that interfere with course work, please get in touch with me immediately. I can’t help you if I don’t know there’s a problem.

Other Stuff Please turn off all cell phones, Blackberries, pagers, and other distracting, ringing, singing, texting, non-course-related machines.

Laptops are allowed in class for presentations or for designated in-class research only. You should be fully engaged during class lectures and discussions, and laptops are a serious distraction to the user and those around him or her. I will allow exceptions to this rule only in cases of a documented learning difference or other extenuating circumstances. If you require permission to use a laptop during class, please consult with me privately within the first two course periods. If you are granted permission, you are expected to use the laptop for course purposes only. Any abuse of laptop use during class time will result in a revocation of privileges regardless of accommodations.