GERM 235 - Introduction to German Cultural Studies

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as STS 235) Topic for 2016/17a: Atrocious Science: German Biopolitics and Its Consequences. Scientific racism (eugenics), forced sterilization, euthanasia, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and medical experiments on concentration camp victims-these atrocities represent the murderous consequences of Nazi biopolitics, that is, their effort to translate specific biologistic ideas of the time into actual policy. But these conceptions of science started long before the Nazis and their implementation encompasses more than Nazi atrocities. This course seeks to develop a keener understanding of biopolitics in the German context as well as its continued relevance for twentieth-century medical ethics, law, and culture. In addition to exploring the historical roots of biopolitical thought in German culture, we examine more recent critical theories drawn from the work of Giorgio Agamben, Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, and others. We also study the important role that literature and film have played in promoting, contesting or condemning biopolitical ideas and their application. All readings and discussions in English. Eric Trump.

Open to all classes.

Two 75-minute periods.