b uilding a thesis statement:

2. building a thesis statement: • Answer what, why, and how? • WHAT: the main argument • WHY: why it matters (larger context) • HOW: methodology • “By (how), Foucault argues that (what), because (why).” • “In order to (why), Foucault proves that (what). He accomplishes this by (how).”

3. what are science studies? • examine relationships between science & society • critiques science • holds out hope for better practices & participation in sciences • interdisciplinary: history, sociology, philosophy

4. michelfoucault (1926-1984)

5. “Modern power relations are unstable! Hegemony is precarious!”

6. (what?) • Since the 19th century, sex has been constituted as a problem of truth for science to uncover • Since the 19th century, power has been deployed as a “subtle network of discourses” (72) in order to attain the “uniform truth of sex” (69).

7. (why?) • To reinsert sexuality into history (sex/uality have histories too!) • To argue that science has been a major factor in constructing sexuality • To answer why there’s been an explosion of discourse on sex, yet paradoxically, we’re more sexually repressed than ever

8. (how?) • Through an interdisciplinary analysis of history • Through an oppositional read of history • Through a genealogical method

9. example thesis statement: • (WHY?) To explain why there’s been an explosion of discourse on sex, yet paradoxically, we’re more sexually repressed than ever, (WHAT?) Foucault argues that, since the 19th century, power has been deployed as a “subtle network of discourses” (72) in order to attain one “uniform truth of sex” (69). (HOW?) He accomplishes this through a genealogical rendering of history.