Global Flows and Revisions of Science for State Policy: The Case of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality

Time: 6:30 PM-7:30 PM

Location: PISB 109 Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building 33rd and Chestnut Streets

In February of 2014, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, celebrating the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act granting life imprisonment for homosexual offenders, declared that homosexuality is a dangerous "learned behavior that can be unlearned." He based this claim on a report written by a panel of scientific experts from the Ugandan Ministry of Health that he requested. Yet, these experts participate in global scientific professions that have declared homosexuality a normal variant of human sexuality not in need of "cure." This talk will explore how flows and revisions of knowledge, both scientific and otherwise, played various roles in the passage of this law, attending to the efforts of the transnational anti-homosexuality and pro-LGBT rights movements. I utilize a concept of "intellectual opportunity structure" to describe features of knowledge producing institutions that enable and constrain social movements in their efforts to shape knowledge production. The openness of global social work institutions and the cultural successes of evangelical Christianity and the anti-homosexuality movement in defining "homosexuality" created opportunities to advance imported reorientation therapy concepts in the debate. Meanwhile, state opposition to pro-gay advocacy and perceptions of global scientific institutions as "Western influence" were two of many factors curtailing any opposition to the bill. Experts with the Ugandan Ministry of Health walked a tightrope between their global profession and the need to maintain local legitimacy.

Contact Information:

Irene Cho

215-571-3852

irene.cho@drexel.edu