Current Institutional Affiliation
Professor, Sociology, University of Wisconsin / Madison

Award Information

Abe Fellowship 1998
Institutional Affiliation (at time of award):
Associate Professor, Anthropology, Stanford University
Social and Cultural Issues in Genomics: A Transnational Study of Japan and the United States

The goal of this project is to provide a comparative analysis of the social and cultural dimensions of efforts to regulate the new genetics in Japan and the United States. I will examine the production of new regulatory policies and public debates about the social and cultural consequences of these new policies and technologies. Much academic research and public discussion has taken place around the social, ethical, and legal issues surrounding human genetics in the United States. Europe has been consumed by debates about genetically engineered agricultural products and organisms. Japan has been the site of some public discussion around biomedical ethics. This project focuses on a transnational study that has been lacking thus far. This study will focus on differences and similarities in the use and consumption of the new genomic information and technologies and their impact on individuals, cultures, and societies in the context of contemporary national and global regulatory efforts.

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