210112 VO M8: Feminist theorizations of Social Reproduction (2025S)

How does society transform or sustain the organization of (social) life and regenerate itself? Through what mechanisms of consent and coercion does this process unfold?

These are among the central questions of theories on social reproduction. Feminist theorizations of social reproduction seek to illuminate these dynamics by examining the intersections of power, particularly across class, gender, and race. They especially emphasize the critical role of the micropolitics of everyday life in reproducing societal structures and regenerating (social) life.

This lecture course reviews recent feminist contributions to the theory of social reproduction, focusing mainly on recent debates surrounding the entanglement of the crisis of social reproduction and gender violence. It explores these issues across various arenas, including state politics and social policies, (un)paid labor, care works, ecology, population and procreation, family and household economy, migration and mobility, and the digital world. The lecture critically investigates the interplay between gender violence and other forms of oppression, offering participants a nuanced understanding of the struggles for life and in everyday life against violence and (social) death, as discussed within feminist theories of social reproduction.

Students, besides becoming familiar with prominent theories of social reproduction, will explore, based on suggested readings and discussions, how gendered bodies, values, and desires are shaped and sustained through institutions, state policies, and everyday practices. They will also learn, according to discussed feminist theories, how these mechanisms of oppression are resisted and how alternatives for organizing (social) life can be imagined and enacted.

Thus, this course equips students with the theoretical tools needed to analyze and address the complex dynamics of social reproduction in contemporary society.