Genetic Imaginations

Peter Glasner and Harry Rothman, University of the West of England, UK

’As the promise and the risks of genetics begin to redefine our health, our reproduction and our lifestyles, this book provides a detailed and informed social mapping of the Human Genome Project on which the new genetics is being constructed. In its breadth of coverage, its critical yet constructive analysis, and its relevance to contemporary policy debate, this book is essential reading for both academic and non-academic audiences.’ Professor Andrew Webster, Director, Science & Technology Studies Unit, University of York, UK ’...important conceptual and policy-related contributions to the social science analysis of genetics. Both the depth and range of material that is covered are impressive and the referencing and indexing especially useful as a resource for those coming new to the field. the material is very well written and accessible...provides policy makers with critical yet constructive analyses of current regimes of genetic regulation and governance’ New Genetics and Society. ’Genetic Imagainations will be important reading for students, academics, policy makers and, ideally, a wider public.’ Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 2000

• Contents: Social dimensions of the Human Genome Mapping Project: an introduction; Transitional science and the Human Genome Mapping Project Resource Centre; How weak bonds stick? Genetic diagnosis between laboratory and clinic; Information technology as an instrument of genetics; Exploring organizational issues in British genomic research; Eugenics here and now; Moral and legal consequences for the fetus/unborn child of medical technologies derived from human genome research; The American gene therapy industry and the social shaping of a new technology; Social criticism and the human genome programme: some reflections on the limits of a limited social science; Signs of life - taking genetic literacy seriously.