Regulating Reproduction: Care, Procreati

The organization and regulation of reproduction varies considerably across societies, but everywhere it directly impacts, and is impacted by, gender relations. These relations are generally marked by inequalities that not only distinguish the life chances of individuals on the basis of sex and gender but also reflect intersectional factors including race, class, ethnicity, national origin and religion. For the last several decades, the organization of reproduction has been intensely contested. Who can, must, should or should not bear or care for children and how; what is a family and who can form one; who is a child, a mother or father; what implications flow from these statuses for individual rights and obligations within or beyond families and how do they impact life chances; and, how do individual reproductive rights relate to other public policy concerns, such as nation-building, population declines, or the migration of care workers? Questions such as these are at the center of seemingly ceaseless debates between social movements, national governments and international organizations. This course explores these issues, primarily through the lens of states of the “global north”, by focusing on care and procreation.