Class Schedule
January
13 Introduction. Syllabus review.
15 How to learn what you need to know about biotechnology, example cloning.
17 Discussion. Congressional Testimony (Jaenisch, Kimbrell, Norsigian,
Reeve)
20 MLK Day. No class.
22 Latour, "Opening Pandora's Box"
24 Rabinow, "Severing the Ties"
27 Bud, "Molecular Biology and the Long-Term History of Biotechnology"
29 Pauly, "Modernist Practice"
31 Loeb, "The Mechanistic Conception of Life"
February
3 Discussion of the mechanistic/industrial conception of life. Wells,
"Limits"
5 Dystopic visions from 1900. HG Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau
(introduction, pp. 1-51)
7 Wells, continue to end.
10 Discussion. Literature and biotechnology. Futurism.
12 Creager, "Biotechnology and blood"
14 Rabinow, "Toward biotechnology"
17 Rheinberger, "Beyond nature and culture"
19 Discussion. Recombinant DNA
21 Patenting. Diamond vs. Chakrabarty
24 Kevles & Berkowitz,
"The Gene Patenting Controversy"
26 Heller & Eisenberg, "Can Patents Deter Innovation?"
Glossary due today.
28 NO
CLASS
March
3 Video (in class). Cancer Cell Research: The Way of all Flesh, BBC 1997
Short paper due.
5 Andrews and Nelkin, Body Bazaar (selections)
7 Discussion. Owning human matter. (Review Rabinow, "Severing the
Ties") NO GLOSSARY THIS WEEK.
10-14 Spring Break
17 Velander, "Transgenic
livestock"
19 Franklin, "Animal models"
21 Discussion. Lewontin, "The Confusion over Cloning"
24 Kamminga, "Vitamins"
26 Schlosser, Fast Food Nation NO GLOSSARY THIS WEEK.
28 NO CLASS
31 Fast Food Nation,
cont'd.
April
2 Discussion. Industrialization of food. Finish reading Fast Food Nation
Glossary due today.
4 NO CLASS (start reading First Fruit)
7 Making and regulating
GM foods. First Fruit
9 Guest Speaker, Neal Lane.
11 Discussion. Genetically modified foods
14 Iceland. Specter, "Decoding Iceland"
16 Fortun, "Mediated speculations."
18 Image analysis. Biotechnology advertisements. Hand in collated
glossary. No entry this week.
21 Huxley, “Brave New World”
23 Huxley, cont’d.
25 Final discussion. Final papers due.