PMA 1179

FWS: Witch Hunts, Welfare, and Warfare: A Cultural History of Reproductive Medicine

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025.

The repeal of Roe v. Wade marks a reproductive crisis in the US, but reproductive injustice has a long history. While the Pill and the IUD are crucial for reproductive choice, they have also been tools of reproductive control. This course offers a critical and cultural history of reproductive medicine and its relationship to patriarchy, capitalism, and imperialism. Students will learn about the birth of modern gynecology, the entanglements between progressive welfare and fascist warfare, and organized resistance against reproductive control. We will engage a variety of historical media and read texts from the history of race and gender in science, media studies, Marxism, and Black and Indigenous feminisms. Assignments invite students to write formal papers and produce their own creative multimedia work.

When Offered Fall.

Distribution Category (WRT-AG)
Satisfies Requirement First-Year Writing Seminar.

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