Engaging with Normativity: Normative Embodiment and Normativity in Medical/Technological Knowledge Practices and Policy-Work, 6.0 credits

Att arbeta med normativitet: Normer om kroppar och normativitet i medicinska/teknologiska kunskapspraktiker och policyarbete, 6.0 hp

7FTEM26

Course level

Third-cycle Education

Description

The course gives an introduction to approaches that are central for researching normativity within STS and feminist STS, feminist and other critical phenomenology, post-phenomenology, medical sociology, and philosophy of medicine. It also engages with questions of how to address and engage with normativity in policy-work, for example on ethically pertinent questions. It presents key theoretical positions on how to conceptualize and analyze embodied normativity and normativity in perception; enacted normativity in different scientific, medical and other technological knowledge production practices, and normative dimensions of policy-making. The term normativity is understood broadly as including normative dimensions, norms and values, including ethical norms and values.


The course participants will be constantly challenged to discuss, critically examine, and compare various perspectives, approaches and concepts. They will read and discuss key texts and be familiarized with the debates on embodied normativity and normativity in perception, enacted normativity in different scientific, medical and other technological knowledge production practices, and normative dimensions of policy-making, from within the fields of STS and feminist STS, feminist and other critical phenomenology, post-phenomenology, medical sociology, and philosophy of medicine. They will also be given ample opportunities for reflection and discussion of perspectives, theories and concepts in past research on normativity, and relate this to their own research.

The course will run part time, starting in January 2027. More information will follow.

Course coordinators:

Kristin Zeiler: kristin.zeiler@liu.se

Sofia Morberg Jämterud: sofia.morberg.jamterud@liu.se

Entry requirements

Entry requirement for studies on third-cycle education courses

  • second-cycle degree,
  • 240 credits in required courses, including at least 60 second-cycle credits, or
  • acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other manner

Specific entry requirements for this course: Participation in the course requires that the participant is currently accepted in a PhD programme that is relevant for the course.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the students will be able to:

  • describe key theoretical positions on how to engage with normativity from within STS and feminist STS, feminist and other critical phenomenology, post-phenomenology, medical sociology, and philosophy of medicine;
  • describe similarities and differences between these theoretical positions, and critically engage with strengths and weaknesses of them;
  • form a basis for personal opinion on the relevance of these theoretical positions in relation to the PhD candidate’s areas of research interest.

Contents

The course gives an introduction to approaches that are central for researching normativity within STS and feminist STS, feminist and other critical phenomenology, post-phenomenology, medical sociology, and philosophy of medicine. It also engages with questions of how to address and engage with normativity in policy-work, for example on ethically pertinent questions. It presents key theoretical positions on how to conceptualize and analyze embodied normativity and normativity in perception; enacted normativity in different scientific, medical and other technological knowledge production practices, and normative dimensions of policy-making. The term normativity is understood broadly as including normative dimensions, norms and values, including ethical norms and values.


The course participants will be constantly challenged to discuss, critically examine, and compare various perspectives, approaches and concepts. They will read and discuss key texts and be familiarized with the debates on embodied normativity and normativity in perception, enacted normativity in different scientific, medical and other technological knowledge production practices, and normative dimensions of policy-making, from within the fields of STS and feminist STS, feminist and other critical phenomenology, post-phenomenology, medical sociology, and philosophy of medicine. They will also be given ample opportunities for reflection and discussion of perspectives, theories and concepts in past research on normativity, and relate this to their own research.

Educational methods

The course consists of lectures, seminars, and conversations with authors of articles.

The course is designed to be participant-oriented in the sense that it maximizes active interactions as learning activities. This means not only that course participants are expected to have read the literature and prepared questions or reflections in advance, but also that the course is designed to give many opportunities for discussion with lecturers and with fellow course participants.

Examination

The examination consists of the following components:

  • Active participation in seminars.
  • Preparation and presentation of questions for seminars and moderate one seminar.
  • Individual written assignments.

Students who fail are offered one re-examination occasion in close connection to the course. After that participation in a coming course examination is offered. The re-examination should be equally comprehensive as the ordinary examination.

Grading

Two-grade scale

Course literature

A list of the course literature will be provided by the course coordinator before the start of the course.

General information

The course is given in English.

The course is planned and carried out according to what is stated in this syllabus. Course evaluation, analysis and suggestions for improvement should be fed back to the Research Education Committee (FUK) by the course coordinator.

If the course is withdrawn or is subject to major changes, examination according to this syllabus is normally offered at three occasions within/in close connection to the two following semesters.