I was reading along in the October 28 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education and I ran across an article entitled "At Case Western Reserve, an Exhibit With a Rhythm All Its Own". Seems the good folks at Case Western have the world's largest collection of birth-control devices, going back to ancient times. Now that would make for an interesting article, wouldn't it? Here's how it opens:
Case Western Reserve University is known for its emphasis on research in the often-dispassionate fields of technology and engineering. But a collection recently acquired by the university's Dittrick Medical History Center shows how such research is adapted to the highly personal area of contraception.
Let's unpack that.
At Case Western the technology and engineering are divorced of passion and implicitly impersonal. Hark! a "highly personal" set of passion-things has arrived! How shall we study them? We don't normally research anything personal or get passionate, so we'll have to "adapt" our technology.
Sigh.
Zuska says contraceptive devices are inherently technological objects. Just because they go inside women's privates doesn't mean there isn't some engineering involved. And chemistry, and biology. You don't have to go around "adapting" anything. You study them the way you'd study any technological object. Unless you are a moron who goes all a-quiver and gets giggly because we're talking about girl parts.
I see it will soon be time for me to begin my assault against the stereotyping of engineering/technology/science as that which is devoid of passion. Of course, I'll have to spend time explaining why so many men who are happy to sublimate their passions are drawn to these fields and like to pretend it's all dispassionate...it is a topic full of many interesting twists.
6:18:42 PM 
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