The Eugenetic Imagination

The study analyzes instances of a eugenetic imagination in early 21stcentury novels.Employing categories developed by Rabinow & Rose in the context of Foucault's 'biopower,' it reveals the continuity of eugenic ideas in contemporary fiction and it as a crucial element in the literary evaluation of modern-day genetics.

This book addresses a research gap in the study of eugenics in fictional literature: the analysis of the nexus of eugenics and genetics in 21st-century novels, detached from their authors' ideological beliefs. It is based on an understanding of literature as an interdiscourse in Jürgen Link's sense. The study employs categories developed by Rabinow and Rose in the context of Foucault's concept of biopower. It thereby demonstrates that, though officially fallen from grace in light of the Nazi atrocities committed in the name of racial hygiene, eugenic ideas remain surprisingly resilient in the sciences as well as in fiction. Thus, the nexus between eugenics and genetics continues to serve as an important force in the structuring of scientific and contemporary popular (inter-)discourses.

Autorentext

Melanie Schrage-Lang studied English and American literature and history at the University of Kassel (Germany) and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (US). She is a Fulbright alumna and holds a PhD from the University of Kassel where she worked as a research assistant in the department of English and American literary studies. Currently, she is working as an established graduate secondary-school teacher in Hesse.

Inhalt

Inhaltsverzeichnis - List of Abbreviations- Introduction- Eugenic Literatures- What's in a Name?- Simon Mawer: Mendel's Dwarf (1997)- Dan Brown, Inferno (2013)- Robert Sawyer: The Neanderthal Parallax (2002-2003)- Jodi Picoult, Second Glance (2003- Writing the Eugenetic Imagination- Works Cited- Literature- Criticism