E-Book Overview
The so-called science wars pit science against culture, and nowhere is the struggle more contentious--or more fraught with paradox--than in the burgeoning realm of genetics. A constructive response, and a welcome intervention, this volume brings together biological and cultural anthropologists to conduct an interdisciplinary dialogue that provokes and instructs even as it bridges the science/culture divide.
Individual essays address issues raised by the science, politics, and history of race, evolution, and identity; genetically modified organisms and genetic diseases; gene work and ethics; and the boundary between humans and animals. The result is an entree to the complicated nexus of questions prompted by the power and importance of genetics and genetic thinking, and the dynamic connections linking culture, biology, nature, and technoscience. The volume offers critical perspectives on science and culture, with contributions that span disciplinary divisions and arguments grounded in both biological perspectives and cultural analysis. An invaluable resource and a provocative introduction to new research and thinking on the uses and study of genetics, Genetic Nature/Culture is a model of fruitful dialogue, presenting the quandaries faced by scholars on both sides of the two-cultures debate.
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Genetic Nature/Culture Genetic Nature/Culture Anthropology and Science beyond the Two-Culture Divide EDITED BY Alan H. Goodman, Deborah Heath, and M. Susan Lindee UNIV ERSITY OF CA LIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles London University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2003 by the Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Genetic nature/culture : anthropology and science beyond the two-culture divide / edited by Alan H. Goodman, Deborah Heath, and M. Susan Lindee. 7 p. cm. Papers presented at a Wenner-Gren Foundation international symposium, held June 11–19, 1999, in Teresópolis, Brazil. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–520–23792–7 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0–520–23793–5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Human population genetics—Congresses. 2. Human genetics—Research— Congresses. 3. Human genetics—Moral and ethical aspects—Congresses. 4. Anthropological ethics—Congresses. I. Goodman, Alan H. II. Heath, Deborah, 1952– III. Lindee, M. Susan. GN289 .G455 2003 599.93’5—dc21 2002152222 Manufactured in the United States of America 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and totally chlorine-free (TCF). It meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper). contents list of illustrations / foreword Sydel Silverman / vii ix preface and acknowledgments / xv introduction. Anthropology in an Age of Genetics: Practice, Discourse, and Critique M. Susan Lindee, Alan Goodman, and Deborah Heath / 1 part i. nature/culture Section A. Human Populations/Genetic Resources 1. Indigenous Peoples, Changing Social and Political Landscapes, and Human Genetics in Amazonia Ricardo Ventura Santos / 23 2. Provenance and the Pedigree: Victor McKusick’s Fieldwork with the Old Order Amish M. Susan Lindee / 41 3. Flexible Eugenics: Technologies of the Self in the Age of Genetics Karen-Sue Taussig, Rayna Rapp, and Deborah Heath / 58 4. The Commodification of Virtual Reality: The Icelandic Health Sector Database Hilary Rose / 77 Section B. Animal Species/Genetic Resources 5. Kinship, Genes, and Cloning: Life after Dolly Sarah Franklin / 95 vi