Bock von Wülfingen, Bettina | Germany

Bock von Wülfingen, Bettina | Germany

Fellow at IAS-STS: 2005/2006

 

Bettina Bock von Wülfingen is PhD-candidate at the University of Bremen, investigating the health and illness notion and gender in new reproductive technologies. She is biologist and also studied Philosophy and Political Science at Regensburg (FRG), at the National University of Cordoba (Argentina) and at the University of Bremen (FRG). She was scholarship holder of the Hans-Boeckler-Foundation, Marie-Curie-fellow at the Science & Technology Studies Unit at York University (GB) in 2004 and short term visiting scholar in History of Public Health at the San Francisco State University in 2005. Her main topics of research are Science Studies; Queer Theory in the fields of biomedical normalisation and embodiments in the socio-political context as well as reproduction and the health notion.

 

Project at IAS-STS: The Geneticisation of Human Procreation

Bettina Bock v. Wuelfingen analyses how the future of human reproduction is shaped by emergent Reproductive and Genetic Technologies and their articulation in and mobilisation through a changing biomedical expert discourse. The study material entails a significant part of the international public discourse as it is mirrored in German popular and science-related literature and press. Thus, ethical, social and legal questions raised in this thesis related to novel developments in the field of human biotechnology include:

  • how such discourse is encouraging and normalising a link between ‘artificial’ infertility and ‘artificial’ conception (connecting sperm and egg cell banking, pre-implantation diagnosis, in vitro fertilisation, gene therapy and blurring the boundaries between so called reproductive and therapeutic cloning), while the perceived arbitrariness of ‘natural’ conception is being challenged?
  • whether and how the gap between experts’ conceptualisation of the future of reproduction (e.g. through cloning) and emotionally laden notions of the reproduction of individuals is to be bridged?
  • finally, what are the potential effects of this discursive linking of Genetics and Reproductive Technologies in one - normalised - procedure on the cultural notions of ‘reproductive health’ and what implications will this have for the public health system?

 
The thesis focuses on short-term political outcomes and long term societal changes resulting from the play of these discursive techniques and projected future visions, especially in regard to gender roles. It hopes to offer a new approach towards societal notions of health and surrounding discourses according to their potential to change values and to broaden capacities to act in the context of New Reproductive Technology.

 

Selected Publications

She is co-editor of

Bath, Corinna; Bauer, Yvonne; Bock v. Wülfingen, Bettina; Saupe, Angelika; Weber, Jutta (ProFeTiN, ed.): MATERIALITÄT DENKEN – STUDIEN ZUR TECHNOLOGISCHEN VERKÖRPERUNG. (THINKING MATERIALITY - STUDIES ON TECHNOLOGICAL EMBODIMENTS). Bielefeld: transkript verlag, 2005.

Ernst, Thomas, Bock v. Wülfingen, Bettina; Borrmann, Stefan; Guidehus; Christian P. (ed., 2004): WISSENSCHAFT UND MACHT (SCIENCE AND POWER). Münster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot.

Recent articles:

VIRULENTE PERSPEKTIVEN DER REPRODUKTION. VON DER BEFRUCHTUNG ZUR ENTGRENZTEN INFEKTION. In: Gisela Engel und Nicole C. Karafyllis (Hg.): Re-Produktionen. Salecina-Beiträge zur Gesellschafts- und Kulturkritik 5. Berlin: trafo Verlag, 2005

GESCHLECHTSKÖRPER – HORMONELL STABILISIERT ODER FLEXIBILISIERT? Das Lesbenhormon. Beitrag in: Materialität denken – Studien zur technologischen Verkörperung. Hg. Bath et al., Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2005.

Fruchtbares Virus, infiziöses Spermium – Wie das Molekül das Selbst verlässt. In: Gisela Engel und Nicole C. Karafyllis (Hg.): Re-Produktionen. Salecina-Beiträge zur Gesellschafts- und Kulturkritik 5. trafo Verlag, Berlin: spring 2005;

Homogene Zeugung - Beschreibung eines Paradigmenwechsels in der Repromedizin (Homo-geneous Contraception: Description of a Change of Paradigm in Reproductive Medicine). First published in: Heidel, Ulf; Micheler, Stefan; Tuider, Elisabeth (Hg.) für die AG LesBiSchwuleStudien/Queer Studies Universität Hamburg: Jenseits der Geschlechtergrenzen. Sexualitäten, Identitäten, Körper in Perspektiven von Queer Studies. Hamburg: Verlag Männerschwarm 2001, S. 253-274.