Sex and Science, Power and Poison

Where does “the” body begin and end, if at all? What cultural forces, material objects, and political systems simultaneously shape us as social subjects and biological bodies? How do our bodies know and transmit experiences of toxic exposures, viscerally and affectively? How do social markers of identity, especially gender, sexuality, race, and class, affect our lived experiences through a toxic world? Reading the works of such intersectional feminists as Thuy Linh Tu, Vanessa Agard-Jones, Traci Brynne Voyles, and Max Liboiron, we will study imbrications of sex, science, and power, with a focus on toxicants, engaging with critical race and queer theories, postcolonial and feminist STS, health social movements, critical public health, and environmental justice.

Dr. Melina Packer is a scholar of critical feminist science studies whose research grapples with the messy entanglements of nature, culture, gender, sexuality, race, and animality. She received her PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies./