Jennifer Denbow

Professor Jennifer Denbow serves in the Department of Political Science within California Polytechnic State University's College of Liberal Arts, where she holds the position of Associate Chair. Her interdisciplinary scholarship bridges feminist political theory, law, and science and technology studies with a specialized focus on US reproductive politics.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality from UC Berkeley (2010), a J.D. from UC Berkeley (2007), and a B.S. in Philosophy with minors in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Michigan (2003).

Denbow's research critically examines the intersections of reproductive justice, political economy, and technological innovation. Her work challenges neoliberal frameworks that position technological solutions as adequate responses to systemic reproductive injustices, particularly highlighting how financialization and market logics infiltrate reproductive healthcare and genetic technologies. She analyzes how ultrasound, prenatal screening, and biometric monitoring function as affective technologies that reshape maternal subjectivity and reproductive autonomy.

Her publications reveal consistent engagement with feminist critiques of reproductive governance, examining how social conservatism, disability rights, and racial politics converge in legislative battles over prenatal nondiscrimination laws and contraceptive access. The scholarship demonstrates particular attention to how ostensibly neutral technological innovations often reinforce existing power hierarchies while obscuring structural inequalities.

• ACLS Project Development Grant for her forthcoming book

As an educator, Denbow teaches courses including Civil Rights in America, Basic Concepts of Political Thought, Judicial Process, US Reproductive Politics, and Feminist Legal Theory. Her research has been supported by institutional affiliations including a Visiting Scholar position at the Feminist Research Institute at UC Davis during the 2020-2021 academic year. She actively contributes to interdisciplinary conversations across political theory, legal studies, and feminist science and technology studies.