326 RüdigerKunow
pronouncements leave us with the question of how well this job is
done—ifitisdoneatall.Toaddressthisquestion,certainlywithoutany
presumption of answering it completely, will be the principle "job" of
thepagesthatfollow.
The question of how the body is given social and cultural presence
and in what textual form is becoming more and more important at our
present historical juncture because the advent of new,mostly molecular
technologies of the body—genetics is the buzzword here^2 —has also
spawned a whole new field of discourses, the much touted "Book of
Life."Whatispurportedlywrittentheremakesthebodyappearnotonly
in a new light but also as a new material reality in its own right, a
reality, moreover, which is located in the innermost interior of the
body.^3
body is fabricated in discourse is not only to figure discourse as a fabricating
kind of activity, but to sidestep the important questions of 'in what way' and 'to
whatextent.'"(qtd.inSchneider227).
(^2) The double helix of desoxyribunucleic acid (DNA) has been a scientific
finding since 1953 when James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and
RosalindFranklinpresentedthefirstmodel.
(^3) Sincethischapterwilladdresstermsandissueswhichareforthemostpartnot
usually objects of cultural critique, a brief note on definition and usage may be
inorder:
Biotarefers broadly to the total sum of "the living organisms of a region or
habitat"("Biota"n.pag.).
Biotechnologyis here used to designate "1. The field devoted to applying the
techniques of biochemistry, cellular biology, biophysics, and molecular biology
to addressing practical issues related to human beings, agriculture, and the
environment. 2. The use of recombinant DNA or hybridoma technologies for
production of useful molecules, or for the alteration of biologic processes to
enhancesomedesiredproperty"("Biotechnology"n.pag.;emphasisdeleted).
Genetics designates "1. The branch of biology that deals with heredity,
especially the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variation of
inherited characteristics among similar or related organisms. 2. The genetic
constitution of an individual, group, or class" ("Genetics," The American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Languagen. pag.; emphasis deleted); an
almostidenticaldefinitioncanbefoundintheTheFreeDictionary.
Genomicsis commonly used to refer to the "study of all of the nucleotide
sequences, including structural genes, regulatory sequences, and noncoding