The Meanings of the Gene

Public Debates About Human Heredity

Celeste Michelle Condit (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

256 Seiten

1999
University of Wisconsin Press (Verlag)
978-0-299-16364-8 (ISBN)

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This text takes a searching look at societal hopes and fears about genetics in the course of the 20th century. In demonstrating the role of rhetoric and ideology in public discussions about this issue, the author asks: who shapes decisions about genetic research - scientists or the public?

This text takes a searching look at societal hopes and fears about genetics in the course of the 20th century. The work of scientists and doctors in advancing genetic research and its applications has been accompanied by plenty of discussion in the popular press - from ""Good Housekeeping"" and ""Forbes"" to ""Ms"" and the ""Congressional Record"" - about such topics as eugenics, sterilization, DNA, genetic counselling, and sex selection. By demonstrating the role of rhetoric and ideology in public discussions about genetics, the author raises the controversial question: who shapes decisions about genetic research and its consequences for humans - scientists, or the public? Analyzing hundreds of stories from American magazines - and, later, television news - from the 1910s to the 1990s, she identifies three central and enduring public worries about genetics: that genes are deterministic arbiters of human fate; that genetics research can be used for discriminatory ends; and that advances in genetics encourage perfectionistic thinking about our children. Other key public concerns highlighted are the complexity of genetic decision-making and potential for invasion of privacy, conflict over the human genetic code and experimentation with DNA, and family genetics and reproductive decisions. The author's analysis reveals a persistent debate in the popular media between themes of genetic determinism (such as eugenics) and more egalitarian views that place genes within the complexity of biological and social life.

Celeste Condit is professor of speech communication at the University of Georgia. She is the author of several books on public discourse and social change, including "Decoding Abortion Rhetoric," "Crafting Equality: America's Anglo-American Word," and "Evaluating Women's Health."

Erscheint lt. Verlag	31.10.1999
Reihe/Serie	Rhetoric of the Human Sciences
Verlagsort	Wisconsin
Sprache	englisch
Gewicht	456 g
Themenwelt	Medizin / Pharmazie ► Medizinische Fachgebiete ► Medizinethik
	Studium ► 2. Studienabschnitt (Klinik) ► Humangenetik
	Studium ► Querschnittsbereiche ► Geschichte / Ethik der Medizin
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	0-299-16364-4 / 0299163644
ISBN-13	978-0-299-16364-8 / 9780299163648
Zustand	Neuware