The Science of Race, Sex, and Gender
Examines the role of science and medicine in the origins and evolution of the concepts of race, sex, and gender from the 17th century to the present. Focus on how biological, anthropological, and medical concepts intersect with social, cultural, and political ideas about racial, sexual, and gender difference in the US and globally. Approach is historical and comparative across disciplines emphasizing the different modes of explanation and use of evidence in each field.
Spring 2023 · Science of Race, Sex, and Gender
This course examines the role of science and medicine in the origins and evolution of concepts of race, sex, and gender from the 17th century to the present. We analyze biological, medical, and anthropological studies and how they intersect with historical, social, political, and cultural ideas about racial, sexual, and gender differences. The course follows lecture/discussion format.
Readings
- Hubbard, Ruth. 1982. “Have Only Men Evolved?” In Biological Woman–the Convenient Myth: A Collection of Feminist Essays and a Comprehensive Bibliography , ed. Ruth Hubbard, Mary Sue Henifin, and Barbara Fried. Schenkman Books, 17–42. ISBN: 9780870737022.
- Proctor, Robert. 1990. “Destruction of ‘Lives Not Worth Living.’” In Racial Hygiene . Harvard University Press. ISBN: 9780674745780.
- Stepan, Nancy Leys. 1991. “Eugenics in Latin America: Its Origins and Institutional Ecology, Racial Poisons & The Politics of Heredity in Latin America in the 1920s.” In The Hour of Eugenics: Race, Gender, and Nation in Latin America . Cornell University Press, 35–101. ISBN: 9780801497957.
- Laqueur, Thomas. 1992. “Destiny is Anatomy”. In Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud . Harvard University Press, 25–62. ISBN: 9780674543553.
- Schiebinger, Londa. 1991. “Chapter 7: More Than Skin Deep”, and “Chapter 8: The Triumph of Complementarity.” In The Mind Has No Sex? Women in the Origins of Modern Science. Harvard University Press, 160–213. ISBN: 9780674576254.
- Lee, Felicia R. 2007. “Reclaiming a Black Research Scientist’s Forgotten Legacy.” New York Times , February 6, 2007.
Prerequisites & course information
Same subject as 21A.103[J] , STS.046[J] Prereq: None Acad Year 2027-2028: U (Spring) Acad Year 2028-2029: Not offered 3-0-9 units. HASS-S
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2023
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.