Regimes of Reproduction: The Mexican System of Assisted Reproduction

A few weeks ago there was news of a crisis in the USA: The temperature of couple of tanks holding embryos had drastically dropped. The embryos that were there were in danger, as were the dreams and hopes of those who had kept them there. In this seminar I look at the epistemic and material infrastructure as well as the (bio)politics that make up the AR system with the purpose of highlighting the regimes of reproduction that are assembled and enacted in and through this system. I argue that these stories speak of how reproduction is undergoing a process of redefinition and revaluation affected by the current types of globalisation, commodification, industrialisation, and marketisation.