Genetics as Social Practice: Transdisciplinary Views on Science and Culture

Recent debate about the ethical and regulatory dimensions of developments in genetics has sidelined societal and cultural aspects, which arguably are indispensable for a nuanced understanding of the complexities of the topic. Regulatory and ethical debates benefit from taking seriously this ’third dimension’ of culture, which often determines the configurations and limits of the space within which scientific, ethical and legal debate can take place. To fill this gap, this volume brings together contributions exploring the mutual relationships between genetics, markets, societies and identities in genetics and genomics. It draws upon the recent transdisciplinary debate on how socio-cultural factors influence understandings of ’genetics2.0' and shows how individual and collective identities are challenged or reinforced by cultural meanings and practices of genetics. This book will become a standard reference for everyone seeking to make sense of the controversies and shifts in the field of genetics in the second decade of the twenty-first century.

Barbara Prainsack is Reader in Sociology in the Department of Social Science, Health and Medicine at King's College London, UK.

Silke Schicktanz is Professor of Culture and Ethics of Biomedicine at the University Medical Centre Göttingen, Germany.

Gabriele Werner-Felmayer is University Professor of Medical Biochemistry at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria.