Overview
An introduction to the social and cultural management of human reproduction. Features local and international anthropological studies of family formation, population control, trafficking, commoditised fertility, adoption, surrogacy, and other reproductive technologies.
This is an introduction to the anthropology of reproduction. Taking nothing about our knowledge of the so called 'natural' and the 'normal' in this field for granted, we use a critical and feminist anthropological approach to explore several of the key contemporary issues in reproduction. Our focus is both global and local.
About this paper
| Paper title | Conceiving Reproduction |
|---|---|
| Subject | Anthropology |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 1 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,103.10 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- ANTH 103 or ANTH 105 or 54 points
- Restriction
- ANTH 322
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Eligibility
- This paper is suitable for students both with and without strong backgrounds in anthropology. Students need to have successfully passed at least one semester of full-time university studies to enrol in this paper. Assignments have been carefully designed to suit a multidisciplinary student audience.
- Contact
- More information link
Please visit the Programme of Social Anthropology
- Teaching staff
Co-ordinator: Professor Ruth Fitzgerald
Contributing Lecturer:
- Dr Molly George
- Dr Julia Wilson
- Tutors ( These will change over every year)
- Teaching Arrangements
We meet together for a 2-hour lecture once a week with a break in the middle of the session. We work with a 'flipped classroom', so there is plenty of opportunity for you to talk as well as listen in these sessions. In addition, we have one hour a week of tutorials where we get to discuss ideas in small groups.
- Textbooks
Course readings are provided through eReserve on Blackboard.
- Course outline
Will be available on Blackboard at the beginning of the course.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global Perspective, Interdisciplinary Perspective, Lifelong Learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical Thinking, Cultural Understanding, Ethics, Research, Self-Motivation, Teamwork.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
For Anthropology Majors:
- Appreciate the range of anthropological research that addresses the social and cultural management of human reproduction in a number of societies.
- Understand reproductive processes as multi-dimensional, historically variable and shaped by specific political economies.
For Non-Anthropology Majors:
- Appreciate the range of anthropological research that addresses the social and cultural management of human reproduction in a number of societies and be aware of some of the points of sameness and contrast with the approaches to these topics from their home discipline.
- Understand reproductive processes as multi-dimensional, historically variable and shaped by specific political economies.
- Assessment details
This course is 100% internally assessed based on:
- A critical reading report
- A book review
- A weekly key lecture point question (open-book) and answered digitally in class
- A reflective assignment based on a lecture topic and a related example of this found in popular culture