November 10 —”Genetics, Ethics and the Law Down Under: A Tasmanian Perspective”
Dr. Mark Stranger of the University of Tasmania engages in perhaps the second most important exploration of the implications of genetic engineering to come from Tasmania in recent years.
When: Monday, November 10, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Where: Health Information and Translational Sciences (HITS) Building, 410 W. 10th Street, Suite 3100. Indianapolis
This presentation is free of charge and open to the general public.
Mark Stranger, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Law and Genetics at the University of Tasmania where he has worked since 2002. He is the Executive Director of the Centre and Manager of the Centre’s multidisciplinary, International Biotechnology, Ethics, and Law and Society (BELS) Network. Mark is a sociologist with an interest in risk and social change, and skills in social research methodologies.
Why does Provocate think you should attend this event?
Legal and ethical limits on genetic engineering is an essential topic, especially if we are entering a period of more open political and policy discussion. It will help to get an outside perspective, and Stranger is one of Australia’s most careful thinkers about predictive genetic testing and discrimination. (See some of his articles here.
If you think this sounds interesting, be sure to check out …
November 9’s “Imagining Our Medical Future: The Ethics of Predictive Genetic Testing and the Search for Personalized Drugs,” a Spirit & Place discussion with several scholars from IU’s Center for Bioethics; journalist Masha Gessen discusses her experiences with genetic testing and cancer November 19.
Know before you go:
Read some recent news articles on genetic testing and discrimination.
And for your listening pleasure …
Alert listeners to Provocate’s Playlist may notice that this is unusual music. In fact, it’s with great difficulty that Provocate refrains from putting “music” in ironic scare-quotes. As it turns out, Dr. Mark Stranger is not the only big thinker about genetic engineering in Tasmania. The death-metal band Psycroptic addresses the topic in their “Alpha Breed” … for proof, don’t try to listen to the words (impossible), check out the lyrics here. In an interview, Psycroptic guitarist Joe Hayley was asked, “Could you explain some of the imagery, themes behind Psycroptic’s lyrics such as ‘Alpha Breed’?” His answer:
Hmm, dunno. Haven’t read them since they were written. Haha. I think ‘Alpha Breed’ is mainly toying with the idea that mankind was created by another race for their own study. An experiment in genetics or something, and that the experiment failed so the human race is to be exterminated. Basically implying that we’re lab rats. But I may be wrong, that could be a different song.
Again life imitates Spinal Tap. Rest assured that however much academic jargon Mark Stranger crams into his talk on genetic engineering, it will be much easier to understand than his fellow Tasmanians on the topic.
