Hormonal Theory
A Rebellious Glossary
Published on 7. March 2024
Book
Hardback
248 pages
978-1-350-32299-8 (ISBN)
Description
A 2024 Choice Outstanding Academic Title
From angiotensin to cortisol, testosterone to xenoestrogens, and dopamine to endocrine disruptors, hormones are everywhere. These chemical entities are foundational to biological life and shape social, cultural, and political forces, while simultaneously being shaped by them. Hormones are increasingly central not only to medical and other body-shaping practices and contemporary science, but also environmentally-oriented conversations. Throughout Hormonal Theory, authors trace how biomedical, social, political, and experiential forces entangle to produce hormones as we know them today. It illuminates how hormones emerge and exist as complex entities that permeate every sphere of our lives.
Each glossary entry takes a particular hormonal compound as its starting point, yet works to elaborate and complicate understandings of hormones as distinct biological or chemical entities. The entries collectively show how hormones never operate in isolation from other hormones, nor bodies in isolation from other human and non-human bodies and their socio-ecological surroundings. Indeed, they "cascade" into one another. This volume, then, is not simply a qualitatively-rich companion to medical knowledge about hormones, but a challenge to the conceptual underpinnings of current dominant understandings of disease, wellness, and normalcy.
From angiotensin to cortisol, testosterone to xenoestrogens, and dopamine to endocrine disruptors, hormones are everywhere. These chemical entities are foundational to biological life and shape social, cultural, and political forces, while simultaneously being shaped by them. Hormones are increasingly central not only to medical and other body-shaping practices and contemporary science, but also environmentally-oriented conversations. Throughout Hormonal Theory, authors trace how biomedical, social, political, and experiential forces entangle to produce hormones as we know them today. It illuminates how hormones emerge and exist as complex entities that permeate every sphere of our lives.
Each glossary entry takes a particular hormonal compound as its starting point, yet works to elaborate and complicate understandings of hormones as distinct biological or chemical entities. The entries collectively show how hormones never operate in isolation from other hormones, nor bodies in isolation from other human and non-human bodies and their socio-ecological surroundings. Indeed, they "cascade" into one another. This volume, then, is not simply a qualitatively-rich companion to medical knowledge about hormones, but a challenge to the conceptual underpinnings of current dominant understandings of disease, wellness, and normalcy.
Reviews / Votes
Hormonal Theory is a long-awaited and much-needed contribution to the meaning and significance of hormones. An elegant combination of theorization and meticulous case studies, this glossary moves beyond prevailing biomedical understanding of hormones as signaling molecules or chemical messengers to show how they are co-constituted between the biological, environmental, cultural, and social. This outstanding book will unsettle our very understanding of what hormones are. * Katrina Karkazis, Professor of Sexuality, Women's & Gender Studies, Amherst College, USA * Hormonal Theory throws one into the murky waters of 'hormones', demonstrating the impossibility ofdisentangling the concept of a hormone from the relations, bio-social configurations, and affects that produce it. The book's playful appropriation of the medical glossary format deftly hints at the serious political impetus behind its powerful insights. * Ericka Johnson, Professor of Gender and Society, Linkoeping University, Sweden * This book is a treasure chest of insights. Accessible and erudite, the essays show how hormones are a means through which social and political relations become instantiated in biology. Hormonal Theory is an indispensable read for anyone interested in how bodies are entangled in political and epistemic regimes. * Samantha Frost, Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA * This thought-provoking volume debunks some commonly held misconceptions about hormones and makes a substantial contribution to the understanding of the crucial role hormones play in many aspects of human lives. Very highly recommended. * Choice *
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
880 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-32299-8 (9781350322998)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Sonja Erikainen is Research Fellow at the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, Usher Institute, The University of Edinburgh, UK.
Andrea Ford is Research Fellow at the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, Usher Institute, The University of Edinburgh, UK.
Rosalyn Malcolm is Assistant Professor in Anthropology at Durham University, UK.
Lisa Raeder is a qualitative researcher and PhD candidate at the Centre for Biomedicine, Self, and Society at the University of Edinburgh, UK.
Celia Roberts is Professor of Gender and Women's Studies, Australian National University, Australia.
Andrea Ford is Research Fellow at the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, Usher Institute, The University of Edinburgh, UK.
Rosalyn Malcolm is Assistant Professor in Anthropology at Durham University, UK.
Lisa Raeder is a qualitative researcher and PhD candidate at the Centre for Biomedicine, Self, and Society at the University of Edinburgh, UK.
Celia Roberts is Professor of Gender and Women's Studies, Australian National University, Australia.
Content
List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
Hormonal Cascades: An Introduction
1. Adrenaline, Celia Roberts (Australian National University, Canberra)
2. Angiotensin, Anne Pollock (King's College London, UK)
3. Cortisol, Roslyn Malcolm (Durham University, UK)
4. Diethylstilbestrol (DES), Jacquelyne Luce (Mount Holyoke College, USA), Anjali Rao-Herel (Mount Holyoke College, USA) with the Feminist Technoscience Governance Collaboratory
5. Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), Norah MacKendrick (Rutgers University, USA)
6. Dopamine, Tom Boylston (University of Edinburgh, UK)
7. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), Wibke Straube (Karlstad University, Sweden)
8. Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Lutenizing Hormone (LH), Risa Cromer (Purdue University, USA)
9. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa), Cronan Cronshaw (Lancaster University, UK)
10. Growth Hormone, Magdalena Radkowska-Walkowicz (University of Warsaw, Poland)
11. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), Emily Ross (University of Sheffield, UK)
12. Hydrocortisone, Ian Harper (University of Edinburgh, UK)
13. Mifepristone and Misoprostol, Leah Eades (University of Edinburgh, UK)
14. Oestrogen, Charlotte Jones (Swansea University, UK) and Kriss Fearon (De Montfort University, UK)
15. Oxytocin, Arbel Griner (Princeton University, USA) and Rafaela Zorzanelli (University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
16. Pitocin, Andrea Ford (University of Edinburgh, UK)
17. Progesterone, Nayantara Sheoran Appleton (Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand)
18. Progestogens, Mariana Rios Sandoval
19. Testosterone, Fabiola Rohden (Federal University at Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
Index
Acknowledgements
Hormonal Cascades: An Introduction
1. Adrenaline, Celia Roberts (Australian National University, Canberra)
2. Angiotensin, Anne Pollock (King's College London, UK)
3. Cortisol, Roslyn Malcolm (Durham University, UK)
4. Diethylstilbestrol (DES), Jacquelyne Luce (Mount Holyoke College, USA), Anjali Rao-Herel (Mount Holyoke College, USA) with the Feminist Technoscience Governance Collaboratory
5. Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), Norah MacKendrick (Rutgers University, USA)
6. Dopamine, Tom Boylston (University of Edinburgh, UK)
7. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), Wibke Straube (Karlstad University, Sweden)
8. Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Lutenizing Hormone (LH), Risa Cromer (Purdue University, USA)
9. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa), Cronan Cronshaw (Lancaster University, UK)
10. Growth Hormone, Magdalena Radkowska-Walkowicz (University of Warsaw, Poland)
11. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), Emily Ross (University of Sheffield, UK)
12. Hydrocortisone, Ian Harper (University of Edinburgh, UK)
13. Mifepristone and Misoprostol, Leah Eades (University of Edinburgh, UK)
14. Oestrogen, Charlotte Jones (Swansea University, UK) and Kriss Fearon (De Montfort University, UK)
15. Oxytocin, Arbel Griner (Princeton University, USA) and Rafaela Zorzanelli (University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
16. Pitocin, Andrea Ford (University of Edinburgh, UK)
17. Progesterone, Nayantara Sheoran Appleton (Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand)
18. Progestogens, Mariana Rios Sandoval
19. Testosterone, Fabiola Rohden (Federal University at Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
Index