“Substantial Relations” employs a postcolonial and materialist lens to intricately trace the development of global reproductive medicine in India since the 1960s. Dr. Sandra Bärnreuther, with extensive cross-cultural experience and a current affiliation with the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland, guides readers to follow “substances” as well as revolve around various “relations” that become tangible through those substances. By reconfiguring these tangible connections, readers are invited to gradually reconstruct the contemporary global landscape of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), underscoring the genealogy of reproductive medicine in India—a segment of postcolonial history that has been overlooked.
The shift in research approaches toward the “material turn” and the conceptual framework of global assemblage has sparked new discussions at the ontological level. Bärnreuther’s work presents a novel synthesis of these two approaches. On the one hand, she leverages substances that have been overlooked, as well as the relations generative by/of substances, to further delineate a system of relations (6). This reveals global reproductive medicine as an assemblage with a temporarily stabilized manifestation, demonstrating its materialization. On the other hand, the integration of the two approaches allows materialist analysis to transcend the mere consideration of substances as singular entities, emphasizing their constitutive being within relational networks. By incorporating these relations to examine substances, one can further the inquiry into how substances “exist,” flow across borders and boundaries, and become enhanced and economically valuable. Specifically, this work examines a range of substances associated with IVF, such as biological materials, knowledge claims, medical supplies, and financial investments.
