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OverviewOver the past several decades there has been an explosion of interest in genetics and genetic inheritance within both the research community and the mass media. The science of genetics now forecasts great advances in alleviating disease and prolonging human life, placing the family and kin group under the spotlight. In Experiencing the New Genetics, Kaja Finkler argues that the often uncritical presentation of research on genetic inheritance as well as the attitudes of some in the biomedical establishment contribute to a ""genetic essentialism,"" a new genetic determinism, and the medicalization of kinship in American society. She explores some of the social and cultural consequences of this phenomenon. Finkler discovers that the new genetics can turn a healthy person into a perpetual patient, complicate the redefinition of the family that has been occurring in American society for the past few decades, and lead to the abdication of responsibility for addressing the problem of unhealthy environmental conditions. Experiencing the New Genetics will assist scholars and general readers alike in making sense of this timely and multifaceted issue. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Kaja FinklerPublisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.432kg ISBN: 9780812217209ISBN 10: 0812217209 Pages: 296 Publication Date: 24 February 2000 Audience: College/higher education , Tertiary & Higher Education Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of print, replaced by POD  We will order this item for you from a manufatured on demand supplier. Table of ContentsPreface 1. Introduction PT. I. SETTING THE STAGE: KINSHIP AND GENETICS 2. The Role of Kinship in Human Life 3. Family and Kinship in American Society 4. Concepts of Heredity in Western Society PT. II. SETTING OUT PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCE 5. People with a Genetic History I: Patients Without Symptoms 6. People with a Genetic History II: Recovered Patients 7. People Without a Medical History: Adoptees. PT. III. IMPLICATIONS 8. The Ideology of Genetic Inheritance in Contemporary Life: The Medicalization of Kinship 9. A Multidimensional Critique of Genetic Determinism 10. Conclusion Notes References Index AcknowledgmentsReviewsA thoughtful work of interest to lay folk and students as well as a variety of specialists in the social sciences and medical professions. -Choice A thoughtful work of interest to lay folk and students as well as a variety of specialists in the social sciences and medical professions. -Choice Based on a broad range of primary and secondary data, [Finkler] has produced a nuanced and sophisticated analysis that illuminates the way scientific knowledge affects both the individual and society. While the book will probably be of greatest interest to social scientists, it should be a 'must read' for health professionals. After all, as she argues, 'Every time doctors take a family history, they reinforce the notion that there is an association between kinship and health,' an association that at best may comfort the individual but at worst 'forebodes a return to the era of eugenics.' -Journal of the American Medical Association Author InformationBy Kaja Finkler Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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