donna drucker from wasp wings to sex dreams
Transcription
donna drucker from wasp wings to sex dreams
02. Dezember 2015 DONNA DRUCKER 18:00 – 20:00 Uhr, Raum FoE FROM WASP WINGS TO SEX DREAMS: CLASSIFICATION IN THE WORK OF ALFRED KINSEY Abstract This paper examines the development of and patterns in Kinsey’s research from his earliest work on gall wasps in the late 1910s through his Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and his final major collaborative work, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). The linkage between his earliest work and his latest work is his focus on methods of mass-data gathering, classification of that data, and the knowledge that classification can generate. Kinsey’s systematic classification of insect data gave rise to new species in the genus Cynips and the rethinking and re-ordering of existing species. His systematic classification of human sexual behavior data—up to 521 data points per interviewee, with often more information handwritten on each of the 18,000 sex history data forms—led to the publication of the most influential texts on human sexuality in the twentieth century. His classification of sexual behavior data led to the creation of the 0–6 (heterosexuality–homosexuality) scale, became a source of identification and community for gay and lesbian rights activists, became a source for changes in sex offender laws, and debunked the myth of the vaginal orgasm, among many other effects. Kinsey’s ability to classify masses of data with great precision was the foundation of his lifelong scientific practice. Historicizing Kinsey’s collection practices and management and scientific knowledge production shows the epistemic webs that link them together and reveals the historical processes of structural changes in these scientific systems of knowledge. Zur Referentin Gastprofessorin am Graduiertenkolleg Topologie der Technik an der TU Darmstadt (zuvor als Post-Doc-Stipendiatin); BA in Geschichte und politische Wissenschaften (1997, Colorado College), MA in Geschichte (2003, Colorado College), PhD in Geschichte (2008, Indiana University), danach mehrere Gastprofessuren in den USA. Forschungsschwerpunkte: Technik- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Geschlecht- und Sexualitätsgeschichte Die Veranstaltungen der SozioLounge finden hochschulöffentlich statt – alle, die gemeinsam mit den Mitarbeitenden des Instituts für Soziologie zu aktuellen Forschungsthemen diskutieren möchten, sind herzlich eingeladen!