Negotiating Risk: British Pakistani Experiences of Genetics

Shaw, Alison

ISBN 10: 1845455487 ISBN 13: 9781845455484

Publisher: Berghahn Books, 2009

Synopsis

Drawing on fieldwork with British Pakistani clients of a UK genetics service, this book explores the personal and social implications of a ‘genetic diagnosis’. Through case material and comparative discussion, the book identifies practical ethical dilemmas raised by new genetic knowledge and shows how, while being shaped by culture, these issues also cross-cut differences of culture, religion and ethnicity. The book also demonstrates how identifying a population-level elevated ‘risk’ of genetic disorders in an ethnic minority population can reinforce existing social divisions and cultural stereotypes. The book addresses questions about the relationship between genetic risk and clinical practice that will be relevant to health workers and policy makers.

About this title

About the Author

Alison Shaw is Senior Research Fellow at the Ethox Centre, University of Oxford, having taught at Brunel (1997-2004), London and Oxford Brookes universities. Her research interests include medical anthropology, ethnicity, kinship and social aspects of genetics. Her books include Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani families in Britain (Routledge 2000); A Pakistani Community in Britain (Blackwell 1888); and Changing Sex and Bending Gender (Berghahn 2005), edited with Shirley Ardener.

From the Back Cover

Drawing on fieldwork with British Pakistani clients of a UK genetics service, this book explores the personal and social implications of a genetic diagnosis . Through case material and comparative discussion, the book identifies practical ethical dilemmas raised by new genetic knowledge and shows how, while being shaped by culture, these issues also cross-cut differences of culture, religion and ethnicity. The book also demonstrates how identifying a population-level elevated risk of genetic disorders in an ethnic minority population can reinforce existing social divisions and cultural stereotypes. The book addresses questions about the relationship between genetic risk and clinical practice that will be relevant to health workers and policy makers.

Edition details

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1845455487
• ISBN 13: 9781845455484
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320