WGSS 296H: Reproductive Rights and Justice
Tu/Th 1:30-3:18
Central Classroom Building 246
Instructor: Dr. Mytheli Sreenivas
247-8057
Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:30-5:00 and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Why is reproduction such a controversial issue, both in the US and in many parts of the world? What do we mean by reproductive rights, and what is the relationship between rights and reproductive justice? How do reproductive technologies—such as surrogacy, IVF, new contraceptives—shape reproductive politics? What is the relationship between reproductive rights, justice, and feminism?
This class takes an interdisciplinary approach to investigating the history and contemporary politics of reproduction beyond a “pro-life” vs. “pro-choice” dichotomy. We will focus on both US and global contexts. Our sources will include legal and historical documents, studies in reproductive and public health, ethnographies, and film.
COURSE MATERIALS
The following books are available for purchase at Student Book Exchange (SBX). These books are also on closed (2 hour) reserve at the library.
1. Nancy Ehrenreich, ed. The Reproductive Rights Reader: Law, Medicine, and the Construction of Motherhood (2008).
2. Betsy Hartmann, Reproductive Rights and Wrongs: The Global Politics of Population Control (rev. ed. 1999).
3. M. Catherine Maternowska, Reproducing Inequities: Poverty and the Politics of Population in Haiti (2006).
4. Dorothy Roberts, Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty (1998).
Additional readings will be made available through the course Carmen site. Please bring either electronic or hard copies of these materials to class.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS AND GRADES
1. Attendance and Participation [20%]: This is a discussion based course, so please come to class having done the readings and be prepared to discuss your questions and comments with your fellow students. Of course, in order to participate effectively, you will need to attend class regularly. Students absent more than two times will incur a grade penalty.
2. Presentation [10%]: Each student will be required to prepare a presentation about the readings for one class session. Your presentation should not simply summarize the readings. Instead, you should raise questions and points of discussion, draw connections among the texts, and link the reading to broader themes in the course.
3. Response Papers [20% each]: I will assign two response papers (4-5 pages each) based on course materials. You will not need to conduct outside research.
4. Final Research Paper [5% proposal, 25% final paper, total: 30%]: The final paper (7-10 pages) will require that you research a topic of your choice that is relevant to the themes of the course. In preparation for writing the paper, you will prepare a research proposal, and are welcome to meet with me individually to discuss your work.
COURSE POLICIES
1. Disability: Students with disabilities that have been certified by the Office for Disability Services will be appropriately accommodated, and should inform the instructor as soon as possible of their needs. The Office for Disability Services is located in 150 Pomerene Hall, 1760 Neil Avenue; telephone 292-3307, TDD 292-0901; http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu/.
2. Academic Misconduct: It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term academic misconduct includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed; illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule 3335-5-487). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct (http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/resource_csc.asp). Here is a direct link for discussion of plagiarism: http://cstw.osu.edu/writingCenter/handouts/research_plagiarism.cfm. Here is the direct link to the OSU Writing Center: http://cstw.osu.edu
3. Class Cancellation: In the unlikely event of class cancellation due to emergency, I will contact you via e-mail and request that a note be placed on the door. In addition, I will contact you as soon as possible following the cancellation to let you know what will be expected of you for our next class meeting.
SCHEDULE OF READING AND ASSIGNMENTS
** Readings marked as “CM” are available on the course Carmen site.
March 27
· Introduction
Defining Reproductive Rights in the U.S.: Medicine, Law, and Feminism
March 29
· Leslie Reagan, “When Abortion was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973,” in the Reproductive Rights Reader
· Kristin Luker, “Medicine and Morality in the Nineteenth Century,” in the Reproductive Rights Reader
· Rickie Sollinger, “Racializing the Nation: From the Declaration of Independence to the Emancipation Proclamation, 1776-1865,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
· Dorothy Roberts, Killing the Black Body, chapters 1-2
April 3
· Barbara Ehrenreich and Dierdre English, “The Sexual Politics of Sickness,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
· Alexandra Dundas Todd, “Delusions in Discourse,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
· Emily Martin, “Body Narratives, Body Boundaries,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
April 5th
· Roe v. Wade, in The Reproductive Rights Reader
· Rosalind Petcheskey, “Beyond a Woman’s Right to Choose: Feminist Ideas about Reproductive Rights,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
· Reva B. Siegel, “Abortion as a Sex Equality Right: Its Basis in Feminist Theory”
· Film: [screened in class] I had an Abortion, dir. Gillian Aldrich and Jennifer Baumgardner
April 10th
· Dorothy Roberts, Killing the Black Body, chapters 3-7
April 12
· Deborah L. Rhode, “Politics and Pregnancy: Adolescent Mothers and Public Policy,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
· Cynthia Dailard, “Sex Education: Politicians, Parents, Teachers, and Teens and Understanding ‘Abstinence’: Implications for Individuals, Programs, and Policies,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
· Diana M. Pearce, “ ‘Children having children’: Teenage Pregnancy and Public Policy from the Woman’s Perspective,” in The Politics of Pregnancy: Adolescent Sexuality and Public Policy, ed. Annette Lawson and Deborah L. Rhode, CM.
April 17
· The Education of Shelby Knox, dir. Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt (screened in class)
· RESPONSE PAPER #1 DUE
Desired Numbers: Population and Reproduction
April 19
· M. Catherine Maternowska, Reproducing Inequities, chapters 1, 3, 4
April 24
· Maternowska, Reproducing Inequities, chapters 6, 7
April 26
· Betsy Hartmann, Reproductive Rights and Wrongs, introduction and chapters 1-4
· Desired Number, dir. Ngozi Onwurah (film screened in class)
· RESEARCH PROPOSAL DUE
May 1
· Hartmann, Reproductive Rights and Wrongs, chapters 5, 10-12
May 3
· Hartmann, Reproductive Rights and Wrongs, chapters 13-16
May 8
· Something Like a War, dir. Deepa Dhanraj, [screened in class]
May 10
Our readings will be structured differently today. Everyone will be required to read the following:
· Jael Silliman et al., “Women of color and their struggle for reproductive justice,” and “Too much to deny,” both in Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice; CM
Everyone will also select one section of Undivided Rights, in advance, and be prepared to speak about it: African American women (ch. 3-5); Native American women (ch. 6-8); Asian American and Pacific Islander women (ch. 9-11); Latinas (ch. 12-14). The book is available on closed reserve in the library; please photocopy the relevant chapters.
May 15
· Class cancelled today because I will be presenting at a research seminar; all students are invited to attend (details TBA).
· RESPONSE PAPER # 2 DUE
Reproductive Technologies across Borders
May 17
· Martha Ertman, “What’s wrong with a parenthood market? A new and improved theory of commodification,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
· Laura Purdy, Reproducing Persons: Issues in Feminist Bioethics, chapters 10, 11
· Lori Andrews, “Is there a right to clone? Constitutional challenges to the ban on human cloning,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader.
May 22
· Rayna Rapp, “How Methodology Bleeds into Daily Life,” and “Refusing,” in Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The social impact of amniocentesis in America,” CM.
· Marsha Saxton, “Disability Rights and Selective Abortion,” in The Reproductive Rights Reader
May 24
· Laura Mamo, “From Whence We Came: Sex without reproduction meets reproduction without sex,” and “Going High-Tech: Infertility Expertise and Lesbian Reproductive Practices,” in Queering Reproduction: Achieving Pregnancy in the Age of Technoscience, CM.
May 29
· Elizebeth F.S. Robers, “’Native’ Narratives of Connectedness: Surrogate Motherhood and Technology,” in Cyborg Babies
· Made in India: A film about surrogacy, dir. Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sina (screened in class)
May 31
· Review: no reading for today
FINAL PAPER DUE: JUNE 7 (university-scheduled exam date)