Decentering Biotechnology: Assemblages Built and Assemblages Masked

201 Pages·2010·2.807 MB·English

by  Michael S. Carolan

Decentering Biotechnology
theory, technology and Society
Series editor: ross Abbinnett, University of Birmingham, UK
theory, technology and Society presents the latest work in social, cultural and
political theory, which considers the impact of new technologies on social,
economic and political relationships. central to the series are the elucidation of
new theories of the humanity-technology relationship, the ethical implications of
techno-scientific innovation, and the identification of unforeseen effects which are
emerging from the techno-scientific organization of society.
With particular interest in questions of gender relations, the body, virtuality,
penality, work, aesthetics, urban space, surveillance, governance and the
environment, the series encourages work that seeks to determine the nature of
the social consequences that have followed the deployment of new technologies,
investigate the increasingly complex relationship between ‘the human’ and ‘the
technological’, or addresses the ethical and political questions arising from the
constant transformation and manipulation of humanity.
Other titles in this series
contested categories
life Sciences in Society
Edited by Susanne Bauer and Ayo Wahlberg
iSBn 978 0 7546 7618 8
technology and Medical Practice
Blood, guts and Machines
Edited by Ericka Johnson and Boel Berner
iSBn 978 0 7546 7836 6
the genome incorporated
constructing Biodigital identity
Kate O’Riordan
iSBn 978 0 7546 7851 9
Decentering Biotechnology
Assemblages Built and Assemblages Masked
MichAel S. cArolAn
Colorado State University, USA
© Michael S. carolan 2010
All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Michael S. carolan has asserted his right under the copyright, Designs and Patents Act,
1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
Ashgate Publishing limited Ashgate Publishing company
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Union road 101 cherry Street
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
carolan, Michael.
Decentering biotechnology : assemblages built and
assemblages masked. -- (theory, technology and society)
1. Biotechnology--Philosophy. 2. object (Philosophy)
3. Biotechnology--Patents.
i. title ii. Series
660.6-dc22

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
carolan, Michael S.
Decentering biotechnology : assemblages built and assemblages masked / by Michael
carolan.
p. cm. -- (theory, technology, and society)
includes bibliographical references and index.
iSBn 978-1-4094-1005-8 (hardback) -- iSBn 978-1-4094-1006-5 (ebook)
1. Biotechnology--Patents. 2. Biotechnology--Social aspects. i. title.
tP248.175.c37 2010
660.6--dc22
2010017415
iSBn 9781409410058 (hbk)
iSBn 9781409410065 (ebk)
V
contents
List of Tables and Figures vii
List of Frequently Used Abbreviations ix
Acknowledgments xi
1 introduction 1
PArt I thInkIng through SoMe BLACkBoxeS
2 Subjectivities gained … Subjectivities lost 13
3 the Production of Biological “objects” 35
PArt II the eMergIng PoLItICAL BIoeConoMy
4 Drawing “objects” together 61
5 the Skein of the information Age looks Very Familiar 83
PArt III FutureS
6 Glocalization and Resistance 111
7 Doing Biotechnology Differently 137
References 159
Index 185
This page has been left blank intentionally
list of tables and Figures
tables
5.1 Percent of 1996 science/engineering graduates still in US
(select countries) in 2001 101
5.2 national research performance compared to economic capacity
(select countries) 103
6.1 examples of Pharma and industrial crops 114
6.2 USDA Approved Field trial Permits in cA for Pharma and
industrial crops, 1996–2009 115
Figures
5.1 Global student flows in higher education 101
5.2 higher education in country of origin and among recent US
immigrants in 1990s (select countries) 102
This page has been left blank intentionally
list of Frequently Used Abbreviations
cBD convention on Biological Diversity
eU european Union
ge genetically engineered
iPr intellectual Property rights
triPs trade related Aspects of intellectual Property rights
US United States
WTO World Trade Organization