HST-390A - Anthropology of Technology

"Margret Grebowicz and Helen Merrick argue that the ongoing fascination with, and re-production of, the cyborg has overshadowed Haraway's extensive body of work in ways that run counter to her own transdisciplinary practices. Sparked by their own personal "adventures" with Haraway's work, the authors offer readings of her texts framed by a series of theoretical and political perspectives: feminist materialism, standpoint epistemology, radical democratic theory, queer theory, and even science fiction. They situate Haraway's critical storytelling and "risky reading" practices as forms of feminist methodology and recognize her passionate engagement with "naturecultures" as the theoretical core driving her work. Chapters situate Haraway as critic, theorist, biologist, feminist, historian, and humorist, exploring the full range of her identities and reflecting her commitment to embodying all of these modes simultaneously."

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Since World War II, the biological and technological have been fusing and merging in new ways, resulting in the loss of a clear distinction between the two. This entanglement of biology with technology isn't new, but the pervasiveness of that integration is staggering, as is the speed at which the two have been merging in recent decades. As this process permeates more of everyday life, the urgent necessity arises to rethink both biology and technology. Indeed, the human body can no longer be regarded either as a bounded entity or as a naturally given and distinct part of an unquestioned whole.Bits of Life assumes a posthuman definition of the body. It is grounded in questions about today's biocultures, which pertain neither to humanist bodily integrity nor to the anthropological assumption that human bodies are the only ones that matter. Editors Anneke Smelik and Nina Lykke aid in mapping changes and transformations and in striking a middle road between the metaphor and the material. In exploring current reconfigurations of bodies and embodied subjects, the contributors pursue a technophilic, yet critical, path while articulating new and thoroughly appraised ethical standards."

"How does one make decisions today about in vitro fertilization, abortion, egg freezing, surrogacy, and other matters of reproduction? This book provides the intellectual and emotional intelligence to help individuals make informed choices amid misinformation and competing claims. Scott Gilbert and Clara Pinto-Correia speak to the couple trying to become pregnant, the woman contemplating an abortion, and the student searching for sound information about human sex and reproduction. Their book is an enlightening read for men as well as for women, describing in clear terms how babies come into existence through both natural and assisted reproductive pathways. They update “the talk” for the twenty-first century: the birds, the bees, and the Petri dishes.

Fear, Wonder, and Science in the New Age of Reproductive Biotechnology first covers the most recent and well-grounded scientific conclusions about fertilization and early human embryology. It then discusses the reasons why some of the major forms of assisted reproductive technologies were invented, how they are used, and what they can and cannot accomplish. Most important, the authors explore the emotional side of using these technologies, focusing on those who have emptied their emotions and bank accounts in a valiant effort to conceive a child. This work of science and human biology is informed by a moral concern for our common humanity."