InConclusive: Human Biology and the Work of
CulturalCritique
Thisvolumewasannouncedasabookaboutbiologyandculture.In
accordance with such an admittedly general announcement, the
argument presented above has concerned itself with mapping the
multifarious ways in which biology––more particularly the biology of
human life––is inserted into, regulates, even complicates the everyday
livesandtheculturalpracticesofpeople,especiallyintheUnitedStates.
Starting from the assumption that human beings are creatures of nature
andofculture,ithasinvestigatedhowAmericans,pastandpresent,have
beenempoweredorconstrainedbybiologicalfactors(realorimagined),
howespeciallythebiologyofthebodyhastimeandagainbeenholding
aspecialplacewithinU.S.culture,organizingpeople'spraxis,andatthe
same time also their desires or fears. At critical junctures in the history
oftheU.S.,mindfulnessforthebiologicalconstitutionofhumanlifehas
repeatedlyfunctionedasasensorthatregisterschangesintheimaginary
communityaddressingitselfas"wethepeople."
Biology,AmericanStudiesandCulturalCritique
It has become quite customary for authors to rave about the
expansiveness of their topic and the material or theoretical innovations
their books represent. This is true, sadly so, also in academic writing.
Indeed, as already mentioned in my opening statements, biology in its
numerousguises and contexts really is a wide-ranging and copious area
of academic interest but also of interest for the general public. Matters
biological refer to the broad spectrum of being human, from the
intimatelypersonaltothesocialandpolitical.Whatismore,asustained
cultural critique of the biology of human life is a much-needed
countermeasure against the exaggerated deference to science and
medicine,notonlyinU.S-Americanculturebutinmanyotherplacesall
overtheworld.