The Battle Between Science and Religion
in Sexual and Reproductive Health

Taught by: Marlene Gerber Fried
This course explores contemporary debates over the role of religion and science in public policy, specifically in the areas of sexuality and reproduction. We look both at claims that science and religion are inevitably in conflict, as well as arguments for their compatibility. We will investigate the FDA's refusal to approve over the counter distribution of emergency contraception; claims that abortion is linked to breast cancer and causes a form of post-traumatic stress disorder; the debates over public funding for abstinence-only sexuality education, stem cell research, and coverage of abortion and contraception in the Affordable Care Act. We will look at these issues in the context of broader societal debates over creationism and intelligent design and challenges to claims about the objectivity of science.

Creating Families

Taught by: Marlene Gerber Fried and Barbara Yngvesson; Marlene Gerber Fried and Pamela Stone
This course investigates the roles of law, culture and technology in creating families. The class focuses on the ways in which systems of reproduction reinforce and/or challenge inequalities of class, race and gender.

Politics of Abortion in the Americas

Taught by: Cora Fernandez Anderson
This course introduces students to the politics of abortion in the Americas by exploring the role of the women's movement, framing of the demand for the right to abrtion, the role of women in positions of power, leftist governments, and the Catholic and Evangelical churches influence.

Politics of the Abortion Debate

Taught by: Katherine Castiello Jones
This course examines the abortion debate in the U.S., looking historically at the period before legalization up to the present. We explore the ethical, political and legal dimensions of the issue and investigate the anti-abortion and abortion rights movements. We view the abortion battle in the U.S. in the wider context of reproductive freedom.

Reproductive Rights:
Domestic and International Perspectives

Taught by: Marlene Gerber Fried and Betsy Hartmann
This course introduces students to a broad range of reproductive rights issues and the history of feminist activism surrounding them.