Abstract
This article describes how biology textbooks can work to discursively constitute a particular kind of “ethical subjectivity.” Not only do textbooks constrain the possibilities for thought and action regarding ethical issues, they also require a certain kind of “subject” to partake in ethical exercises and questions. This study looks at how ethical questions/exercises found in four Ontario textbooks require students and teachers to think and act along specific lines. These include making ethical decisions within a legal–juridical frame; deciding what kinds of research should be publically funded; optimizing personal and population health; and regulation through policy and legislation. While engaging ethical issues in these ways is useful, educators should also question the kinds of (ethical) subjectivities that are partially constituted by discourses of science education. If science education is going to address twenty-first century problems such as climate change and social inequality, educators need to address how the possibilities for ethical engagement afforded to students work to constitute specific kinds of “ethical actors.”
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Notes
Biopower and biopolitics are different in that the former involves controlling modes of life, populations and harnessing their power, while the latter involves interventions into these forms of control for various ends. I encourage readers who wish to have a fuller understanding of these concepts to engage with Foucault’s work.
This is not to say that human beings are not a species, but simply to say that knowledge about human beings is tied up with techniques and practices of governance.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the members of the “Science and the Citizen” symposium, Anastasios Siatrias, Darren Hoeg, David Blades, Erin Sperling, Hagop Yacoubian, and Larry Bencze for their support.
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Bazzul, J. Tracing “Ethical Subjectivities” in Science Education: How Biology Textbooks Can Frame Ethico-Political Choices for Students. Res Sci Educ 45, 23–40 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-014-9411-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-014-9411-4