The Science of Sex

Catalog description

Contemporary understandings of sex, gender, and sexuality are shaped by a long history of scientific work in fields as diverse as sexology, genetics, phrenology, eugenics, biology, and more. This course traces how these understandings shaped and were shaped by sex, gender, and sexuality. The course begins with early work in the field of feminist science studies, then turns to questions of taxonomy and difference before interrogating the role of nationalisms in sex-related sciences. The class also explores American eugenics, early work in sexology and the study of homosexuality, sex and the brain in the contemporary U.S., problems with sex differentiation, the role of sex in current ecological sciences, assisted reproductive technologies, posthuman bodies, and feminist interventions in technosciences. Satisfies a major requirement in Gender and Sexuality Studies Satisfies a minor requirement in Gender and Sexuality Studies