Gender and Science

Abstract    

This lecture series offers an introduction to the relationship between gender and science, with a focus on the specific intersections with the sciences taught at ETH.

Objective    

This lecture series is designed to acquaint students from all levels and departments with the various ways in which gender perspectives matter for specific scientific disciplines, as well as for science in general. Students will learn to recognize and analyse the specific ways in which scientific theories and methods are gendered. They will be able to discuss and reflect how these topics are connected to their own scientific disciplines.

Content    

There is agreement across academic disciplines today that gender influences and structures the production of knowledge and that scientific knowledge production in turn shapes gender notions. Even within “hard” sciences such as mathematics, physics, engineering, etc., gender is a significant factor in determining what counts as “objective” knowledge, who can know it, what kind of knowledge is produced, or how this knowledge is acquired and justified. Feminist research aims to reveal how dominant conceptions of science and knowledge practices disadvantage women*, and other subordinate groups, with the goal of reforming these practices. An important part of feminist critique is to show that such efforts substantially improve the overall quality of research.

The semester will start with two introductory lectures acquainting students with research questions in the field of Gender and Science by summarizing its key concepts and methods. It will then continue as a series of weekly guest lectures by scholars from different scientific disciplines that provide accessible insights into the intersection between gender studies and the guest lecturer’s research field. Students will thereby be encouraged to learn from concrete examples rather than abstract theory. The goal is for students to understand how to apply concepts and methods of gender studies to their particular disciplines. Intermediate discussions with the students will provide a forum for critically reflecting the content of the lectures and the connections to their own academic fields and practices.

All lectures by the guest speakers will also be open to the broader ETH public, while the introductory and discussion sessions are only for registered course participants.