RCNSCI 270: New Biotechnology: Scientific, Social and Historical Perspectives
Completed: A+
This course examines the development of genetic engineering and other biogenetic technologies that provide powerful methods for intervening in the genetic constitution of living things. It asks some of the questions that the scientific community asked itself when these techniques were invented in several California laboratories in the early 1970s: what principles should guide assessment of a new form of technology in the face of varying technical opinion about its implications? Should scientific research be controlled? What should be the roles of technical experts and the wider public in policy making? Where should decisions be made? And who should decide such matters? How these issues have been addressed are central themes of the course.
The principal goal of the course is to develop a broad historical perspective on the emergence and development of a new field of scientific achievement, the contexts in which the field is evolving, the terms of development, and the social and ethical issues associated with the development and application.
Instructors: Carol Landry and Inigo de la Cerda
Impressions:
Assignments:
- Preliminary Aspects of Biotechnology (PDF - 72K)
- Of Optimalism and the Genetic Meme to Engineering (PDF - 100K)
- Term Paper:Implications and Recommendations for U.S. Health Insurance Regarding Genetic Testing (PDF - 177K)
Materials:
- Lewontin, Richard. Biology as Ideology: The Doctrine of DNA. (1991)
- Lewontin, Richard. It Ain't Necessarily So: The Dream of the Human Genome and Other Illusions. Second Edition. (2001)
- Coursepack I. 299 pages.
- Judson, Horace F. "A History of the Science and Technology Behind Gene Mapping and Sequencing." in Kevles & Hood. The Code of Codes: Scientific and Social Issues in the Human Genome Project. (1992) Chp. 2: 37-80.
- Wright, Susan. "The Social Transformation of Recombinant DNA Technology 1972-1982." Molecular Politics. (1994) Chp. 2: 65-109, 486-495
- Hubbard & Wald. "Genes in Context." Exploding the Gene Myth. (1993) 58-71
- Kass, Leon R. "The New Biology: What Price Relieving Man's Estate?" Science. 174 (19 November 1971): 779-788
- Gilbert, Walter. "A Vision of the Grail." in Kevles & Hood. The Code of Codes... (1992) Chp. 3: 83-97
- Paul, Diane. "Eugenic Anxieties, Social Realities and Political Choices." The Politics of Heredity. (1998) Chp. 6: 95-115
- Koshland. Daniel E. Jr. "Sequences and Consequences of the Human Genome." Science. 246 (13 October 1989): 189
- Gould, Stephen Jay. "American Polygeny and Craniometry before Darwin." The Mismeasure of Man. (1996) Ch. 2: 62-104
- Silver, Lee. "The Virtual Child," and "The Designer Child." Remaking Eden: How Genetic Engineering and Cloning Will Transform the American Family. (1999) Chp. 17: 233-265, Chp. 18: 266-280
- Rogers, Michael. "The Pandora's Box Congress." in Watson & Tooze. The DNA Story. (1981) 28-40
- Wright, Susan. "The Emergence and Definition of the Genetic Engineering Issue, 1972-1975" Molecular Politics. (1994) Chp. 3: 113-159, 496-502
- Kaback, Michael. "The 'Asilomar Process' and the Human Genome Project." Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 44.2 (Spring 2001): 230-234
- Wright, Susan. "Legitimating Genetic Engineering." Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 44.2 (Spring 2001): 235-247
- Krimsky, Sheldon. "Patenting Hybrids, Chimeras, and Other Oddities" Biotechnics & Society: The Rise of Industrial Genetics. (1991) Chp. 3: 43-57
- Supreme Court of the United States: Diamond vs. Chakrabarty (1980) Opinions
- Kass, Leon. "Patenting Life." Commentary (December 1981) 45-57
- Hettinger, Ned. "Patenting Life: Biotechnology, Intellectual Property, and Environmental Ethics." Environmental Affairs. 22 (1995): 267-305
- Dhar, Biswajit. "The Global Patent Regime: Implementing Article X." in Wright. Biological Warfare and Disarmament. (2002) Chp. 15: 389-408.
- Coursepack II. 246 pages.
- Pollan,Michael. "Playing God in the Garden," New York Times Magazine (25 October 1998) 44-51, 62-63, 92-93
- Wolfenbarger & Phifer. "The Ecological Risks and Benefits of Genetically Engineered Plants." Science. 290 (15 December 2000): 2088-2093.
- Kolehmainen, Sophia. "Genetically Engineered Agriculture, Precaution before Profits: An Overview of Issues in Genetically Engineered Food and Crops." Virginia Environmental Law Journal 20.2 (2001) 267-294
- Brill, Winston. "Why Engineered Organisms Are Safe." Issues in Science and Technology (Spring 1988) 44-50.
- Sing & Kardia. "What Everybody Knows But Most Deny, When Considering New Biotechnologies."
- Keller & Brummer. "Putting Food Production in Context: Toward Postmechanistic Agricultural Ethic." BioScience 52.3 (March 2002) 264-271
- Berry, Wendell. "The Agricultural Crisis as a Crisis of Culture." The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture (1996) 39-48
- Hobbelink, Hans. "Transforming the Output," and "Controlling the Profit." Biotechnology and the Future of World Agriculture (1991) Chp. 6: 70-98, Chp. 7: 99-118
- Mendelson, Joseph. "Roundup: The World's biggest-selling herbicide." The Ecologist 28.5. (1998): 270-275
- Hart, Kathleen. "Pusztai's Potatoes," "Pesticide in a Spud," and "Golden Rice." Eating in the Dark. (2002) Chp.3: 47-62, Chp.6: 102-117, Chp. 12: 209-224
- Nelson. Babinard. and Josling. "The Domestic and Regional Regulatory Environment," in Gerald C. Nelson, ed. Genetically Modified Organisms in Agriculture: Economics and Politics (2001) Chp. 9: 97-116
- Ferrara, Jennifer. "Revolving Doors: Monsanto and the Regulators." The Ecologist 28.5 (1998) 280-286
- Ingo Potrykus in: http://www.mindfully.org/GE/Ingo-Potrykus-Responds-9feb01.htm#1
- Ingo Potrykus in: http://www.biotech-info.net/GR_tale.html
- Altieri. & Rosset. "Ten Reasons Why Biotechnology Will Not Ensure Food Security, Protect the Environment, And Reduce Poverty In The Developing World." The Journal of Agrobiotechnology Management & Economics. 2 (1999): 155-162
- McGloughlin. "Ten Reasons Why Biotechnology Will Be Important To The Developing World." The Journal of Agrobiotechnology Management & Economics. 2 (1999): 163-174
- Altieri. & Rosset. "Strengthening The Case For Why Biotechnology Will Not Help The Developing World: A Response to McGloughlin." The Journal of Agrobiotechnology Management & Economics. 2 (1999): 226-236
- Kimbrell, Andrew. "Why Biotechnology and High-Tech Agriculture Cannot Feed the World." The Ecologist 28.5 (1998):294-298
- Priest, Susanna H. "Introduction," and "Reinventing Milk." A Grain of Truth: The Media, the Public and Biotechnology. (2001)1-33
- Kingsnorth, Paul. "Bovine Growth Hormones." The Ecologist. 28.5 (1998) 266-269
- Bruno, Kenny. "Monsanto's Failing PR Strategy." The Ecologist. 28.5 (1998) 287-294
Notice:
Information provided on this page is a result of undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. Material may be copyrighted by the University of Michigan, James Glettler, and/or the various co-authors noted in group projects. Finished assignments are offered only for reference.