Fall 2003 :: Genetically Modified Culture

Genetics. On April 14, this year, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium (initiated in the US by the Department of Energy) announced the completion of the Human Genome Project. Such grand scientific announcements recall those made by the US and Soviet Union during the "Space Race." While those "giant steps for mankind" excited millions of US and Soviet citizens, the same citizen body was preparing for the possibility of nuclear destruction. The technology that allowed for the spectacle of space exploration was also part of the imaginary spectacle of "nuclear holocaust." Imaginary because it existed as a fear in the global imagination, while very material conflicts, with traditional guns and tanks,were played out in "smaller" parts of the world. The history of what we now call genetics is of course one with a tainted past, to put it mildly. It's safe to say that, while the claims for improving our lives may seem promising, there haven't been many instances of such claims living up to such promises. And the "smaller" parts of the world are - whether culturally, biologically or geographically smaller - once again the site of colonization and resistance.
The works in this installment look at genetics through various charged lenses. The technological utopia of a "networked society" is invaded at the molecular level, infecting the metaphors and assumptions of genetic determinism.

Thanks, once again, to everyone who contributed work and ideas and made this installment possible.