Gender, Science and Nature

Given the power of science and narratives of nature, it is crucial both to examine how notions of nature and scientific knowledge are produced and to critically examine this finished product. The core focus of this course is to examine how power operates in the ways that 'science' and 'nature' are constructed and operate. The course takes as its foundation that science and nature are not pre-existing 'things' but are subject to social processes and cultural norms. It is therefore imperative to examine how social and cultural values influence scientific traditions, how scientific knowledge is produced, and the implications of what is produced through various scientific epistemologies. With the specific help of feminist and gender studies theories and approaches this course introduces you to a range of historical and contemporary debates about the production of nature and scientific knowledge and their implications. You are then encouraged to examine, problematise and apply these perspectives in relation to each other as well as to various contemporary issues.