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78156-01 - Seminar: Life in the Time of [Bio-]Capitalism (3 KP)
| Semester | Frühjahrsemester 2026 |
| Angebotsmuster | unregelmässig |
| Dozierende | Sahana Srinivasan (sahana.srinivasan@unibas.ch, BeurteilerIn) |
| Inhalt | This course broadly explores how innovations in biomedicine and healthcare are framed by capitalist imperatives. We begin by defining our contemporary political, economic an humanitarian contexts, with an introduction to capital and commodification (Marx), biopolitics (Foucault) and necropolitics (Mbembe). These foundational principles are then used to interrogate innovations in biomedicine – Can the commodification of biology, i.e., biocapital, improve healthcare? Can market-driven and profit-oriented healthcare ever adequately address global health inequities? Can philanthrocapitalism restore planetary health? |
| Lernziele | Students will first engage with the foundational theoretical principles of capital, commodification (Marx), forms of capital (Bourdieu), biopolitics (Foucault) and necropolitics (Mbembe). These ideas will then be used to understand the co-production of economic regime and biomedicine (Sunder Rajan, Rose, Dumit). Finally, we will examine the contributions of philanthrocapitalism towards global and planetary health outcomes (Butler). Taken together, students will be able to contextualise and critique biomedicine, evaluate its promises and pitfalls, and speculate on if another future is possible. |
| Literatur | Learning material for this course may include: Selected video(s) from „Reading Marx’s Capital Volume 1 with David Harvey“ (Recorded at The People’s Forum NYC, 2019) „Forms of Capital“ (Bourdieu, 1983) „Biopolitics“ (from The Cambridge Foucault Lexicon, 2014) „Necropolitics“ (Mbembe, 2019) „The Politics of Life Itself“ (Rose, 2001) „Promise and Fetish :Genomic Facts and Personalised Medicine, or Life is a Business Plan“ from „Biocapital: The Constitution of Post-Genomic Life“ (Sunder Rajan, 2006) „Moving the Lines, Deciding Thresholds“ from „Drugs for Life“ (Dumit, 2014) „Making valuable health: pharmaceutical, global capital, and alternative political economies“ (Gaudilliere and Sunder Rajan, 2021) „Philanthrocapitalism: Promoting Global Health but Failing Planetary Health“ (Butler, 2019) |
| Bemerkungen | No prior knowledge of biology/medicine/psychology is needed. |
| Teilnahmevoraussetzungen | The number of participants is limited to 25 people. The places are assigned according to date of enrollment and subject of study. Priority will be given to the subjects listed under "modules". The seminar is only open to MA students and advanced BA students (from the 4th semester onwards). |
| Unterrichtssprache | Englisch |
| Einsatz digitaler Medien | kein spezifischer Einsatz |
| Intervall | Wochentag | Zeit | Raum |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Mittwoch | 10.15-12.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
Einzeltermine
| Datum | Zeit | Raum |
|---|---|---|
| Mittwoch 04.03.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 11.03.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 18.03.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 25.03.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 01.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 08.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 15.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 22.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 29.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 06.05.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 13.05.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 20.05.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Mittwoch 27.05.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Module |
Modul: Advances in Epidemiology, Statistics and Global & Public Health (Masterstudium: Epidemiologie) Modul: Fields: Environment and Development (Master Studiengang: African Studies) Modul: Fields: Public Health and Social Life (Master Studiengang: African Studies) Modul: Kulturtechnische Dimensionen (Master Studiengang: Kulturtechniken) Modul: Methoden und Felder der Kulturanthropologie (Bachelor Studienfach: Kulturanthropologie) Modul: Migration, Mobility and Transnationalism (Master Studiengang: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources ) Modul: Research Lab Kulturanthropologie (Master Studienfach: Kulturanthropologie) Modul: Sachthemen der Ethnologie (Bachelor Studienfach: Ethnologie) Modul: Theory and General Anthropology (Master Studienfach: Anthropology) Modul: Vertiefung Themenfelder der Geschlechterforschung (Master Studienfach: Geschlechterforschung) Modul: Wissenschaftliche Vertiefung in der Ethnologie: Sachthemen (Bachelor Studienfach: Ethnologie) Vertiefungsmodul Global Europe: Global Ageing and Health (Masterstudium: European Global Studies) |
| Prüfung | Lehrveranst.-begleitend |
| An-/Abmeldung zur Prüfung | Anmelden: Belegen; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| Wiederholungsprüfung | keine Wiederholungsprüfung |
| Skala | Pass / Fail |
| Belegen bei Nichtbestehen | beliebig wiederholbar |
| Zuständige Fakultät | Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Anbietende Organisationseinheit | Fachbereich Ethnologie |