This course examines how the contemporary life sciences intersect with global geopolitics through an introduction to the field of science and technology studies (STS). Using interdisciplinary methodologies and global perspectives, the course addresses key questions including: Who benefits from the development of new biotechnologies, and who is exploited in the process? Who sets the international norms of bioethics and medical market regulation? How are biologists and medical practitioners redefining life for different societies and their diverse constituencies? The course predominantly focuses on humans, but also introduces new scholarship on animal studies and synthetic life forms. It has significant coverage of the Middle East, Africa, and East and South Asia.