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Agential Realism and the Science of Afterbirths

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Agential Realism and the Science of Afterbirths Placentations: Agential Realism and the Science of Afterbirths By Rebecca Scott Yoshizawa A dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario August 2014 Copyright © Rebecca Scott Yoshizawa Abstract According to biological sciences, placentas are transient organs that are necessary for mammalian fetal development and produced by interaction of maternal and fetal cells, a process called “placentation.” The aim of this dissertation is to understand as well as elucidate effects of placentations. I employ an agential realist framework to do this analysis. As developed by Karen Barad, agential realism is a performative theory of the irreducible entanglement of matter and discourse that relates knowing and being as inseparable. Intra-action is the foundational operationalization of agential realism. Unlike interaction, which assumes that agential entities pre-exist their meeting, intra-action refers to the entanglement of mutually constituted agencies. Informed by this ‘onto- epistemology,’ I define placentation as the differential and entangled intra- and inter- species, intra- and inter-cultural, and intra- and inter-disciplinary production of placentas. This definition is ‘naturalcultural,’ presuming that nature and culture are not distinct realms occupied by distinct kinds of beings. Rather, such a duality is a performative effect of what Barad calls agential cuts enacted by the specific apparatuses that are employed to understand it. To understand placentation naturalculturally requires the breaching of disciplinary boundaries that relegate ‘culture’ as a topic proper to the social sciences and ‘nature’ to science. This dissertation breaches these boundaries, and in so doing opens up new avenues for thinking about placentations and their consequences. In order to empirically explore placentations, I interviewed and/or observed 31 scientists who study placentas, and reviewed scientific and other secondary sources. The main findings of this dissertation concern differences made by theorizing placentas in particular ways. Based on these findings, I argue that understanding placentations ii naturalculturally is not only a more accurate approach than the one predicating dominant scientific explanations, but also prompts new ethical, theoretical, and practical considerations concerning pregnancy, bioethics, environmentalism, health, and more. iii Acknowledgements I would like to offer my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Myra J. Hird. She provided me with the opportunities to make my intellectual, academic, and career dreams come true. Without Dr. Hird’s encouragement, guidance, critiques, suggestions, and confidence, I would not have been able to write this dissertation. I sincerely thank Dr. Cathie Krull and Dr. Sergio Sismondo for serving on my committee. I am very thankful for and humbled by their expertise, which they offered generously throughout the long process of writing this dissertation. It was a privilege to have Dr. Vicki Kirby, whose work has inspired me since my days as an undergraduate, as the external examiner of my dissertation. I am grateful to have been offered her commentary and advice. Dr. Joyce Davidson was a wonderful internal examiner. It was my pleasure to ponder her critiques and challenges. Along with Dr. Rob Beamish and his formidable questions representing the Department of Sociology, these professors made my defense experience extremely positive and enjoyable. Many others helped me along the way. Dr. Kirsten Emiko McAllister has cheered me on since the beginning of my MA. Wendy Schuler and Michelle Ellis provided invaluable office and administration advice and support throughout the years. Dr. Annette Burfoot was a very supportive graduate advisor. I enjoyed the opportunity to work as a TA in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University during my PhD. I am grateful that Elena Kusaka spent hours helping me proofread the final draft of this dissertation. iv Danielle Deveau was a good friend and major source of moral support, advice, and help during my PhD. I want to thank other cherished friends Terry Neiman, Sandra Robinson, Sylvia Bawa, and AW Lee. Compatriots in the endeavour to become doctors of philosophy, we commiserated, celebrated, and supported each other. Thanks to my other friends Michael Phillips, Jimmy Lee, friends under Myra’s supervision, graduate students in Queen’s Sociology, and friends from the School of Communication at SFU. My mom (Karen) and dad (Blen) always believed in me. They have supported me these 28 years that I have attended school since kindergarten. My sisters Katie and Sara and their husbands Dave and Nelson are precious to me. My other mom (Naomi) and Pop (Claudio) along with my sister-in-law Natasha are as much family to me as my biological one. Thanks to my extended families the Scotts and DeLairs, as well as the Yoshizawas and Lazo-Vidals. My sincere thanks go to the many participants in this study and others who made this study possible. They generously offered me their time and support. Their passion and expertise continue to inspire me. This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through a Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship, a Queen’s Tri-Council Recipient Recognition Award, a Department of Sociology Blakely Trust Travel Scholarship, a Queen’s Graduate Award, and a Department of Sociology Thesis Completion Grant. I am also thankful I had the opportunity to work as a TA and sessional instructor in the Department of Sociology at Queen’s, as well as for Dr. Hird as a research assistant. v Finally, I want to thank my husband, my other dream come true. What I wrote in my MA thesis acknowledgements is even truer today: I owe you more thanks and love than I could pay back in a lifetime. I love you, crazily. vi Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 Placentas are Naturalcultural ........................................................................................ 1 Thesis Statement ................................................................................................................ 9 Ontological and Epistemological Assumptions ........................................................ 9 Performativity ............................................................................................................................... 10 Ethico-Onto-Epistemology ....................................................................................................... 13 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 15 Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 22 Setting and Participants ............................................................................................................ 23 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 25 Limitations ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................. 29 Chapter 2: Theory: Philosophy-Physics and Agential Realism ............................. 34 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 34 Philosophy-Physics .......................................................................................................... 35 Agential Realism ............................................................................................................... 43 Critiques and Response-abilities ................................................................................ 51 vii Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 60 Chapter 3: Diffractive Resources: Feminist Theory and Anthropology ............. 61 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 61 Anthropology of Placentas ............................................................................................ 62 Explaining Placenta Rituals ..................................................................................................... 65 Diffracting Anthropology of Placentas ................................................................................ 71 Placental Feminism: Placentas and their Others ..................................................
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