The Politics of Reproduction: Sex, Abortion, and Motherhood

In this course we will examine contemporary reproductive issues both in the United States and around the world. We will work to understand both how reproductive politics are informed by broader cultural ideas regarding gender, race, class, ability, sexuality, and geography and also how ideas about reproduction reinforce conceptions of these very identity markers and ways of experiencing the world. Because requirements for being considered a “good” woman are intimately tied to what it means to be a “good” mother, challenging dominant understandings of gender and sexuality requires critical engagement with ideas about reproduction. This course is part of the Public Humanities Labs Initiative administered by the Axinn Center for the Humanities. 3 hrs. lect. (FemSTHM)/