Rate My Professor Sonja Van Wichelen

Her research focuses on the intersections of law, biology, and society in global contexts, particularly biolegality, which explores the relation between biology and law in forming knowledge and sociality. Other areas include cross-border reproductive technologies, global migration and citizenship, transnational adoption, science and technology studies, biotechnology, and religion, politics, and gender in Indonesia. She has authored books such as Religion, Politics and Gender in Indonesia: Disputing the Muslim Body (Routledge, 2010) and Legitimating Life: Adoption in the Age of Globalization and Biotechnology (Rutgers University Press, 2018). Selected publications include "Civilizing Migrants: Integration, Culture and Citizenship" (European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2012), "Polygamy Talk and the Politics of Feminism: Contestations over Masculinity in a New Muslim Indonesia" (Journal of International Women's Studies, 2009), and "Biolegality: How Biology and Law Redefine Sociality" (Annual Review of Anthropology, 2022). Van Wichelen has received the Sydney Research Accelerator (SOAR) Prize from the University of Sydney (2019), the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award from the Australian Research Council (2014), and the Rubicon Award from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (2008). She supervises graduate students in science and technology studies and biotechnology, serves as Deputy Director of the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, and leads initiatives such as advancing science communication for planetary health in Indonesia.