There are three things roiling politics in these times: the rise of right-wing, religiously inflect authoritarian nationalisms, the political economy of debt and austerity, and struggles over the politics of immigration, race, and gender (or “gender ideology.”) This is not new, but is arguably intensified in this moment, from Trumpism to Bolsonarismo to Orbanism. This talk shows how this conjunction works through certain kinds of reproductive governance that attempt to instantiate white, heterosexual nuclear families – including the criminalization of abortion and contraception and the taking of the children of the poor and placing them in foster care or adoptions.

About the speaker

Laura Briggs is an expert on the history of reproductive politics and the U.S. in the wider world. Her research studies the relationship between reproductive politics, neoliberalism, and the longue durée of U.S. empire and imperialism. Briggs has also been at the forefront of rethinking the field and frameworks of transnational feminisms.

This event is organized as part of the research project funded by SNSF RE:SHARE. Race and Ethnicity: Sexual Health and Reproductive Experiences in postwar Britain.