Anthropological Perspectives on Reproductive Politics in the 21st Century

The course examines why human reproduction becomes a subject of intense gender discrimination and local, state control. The course is grounded in contemporary anthropological and sociological debates. It critically examines dimensions as wide ranging as conception, childbirth, infertility, abortion and population control to demographic security. The course interrogates how the 20th century gender bias in global population and reproductive politics continues to reverberate in the 21st century. Previous Medical Anthropology courses are recommended but not prerequisites, as we expect students from a diversity of backgrounds to foster interdisciplinary learning.