A Bio -Umbrella for Bioterrorism?
Biodefense in
the George W. Bush
Administration
In April this year, the administration of George W. Bush unveiled an unclassified version of a secret presidential directive that aims to defend Americans from terrorists intent on spreading dread disease by monitoring their air, water, and food; surveilling their health; treating them if attacked; and protecting them from futuristic genetically modified pathogens. The colloquium paper examines the evolution of the concept of biodefense and, in particular, the geopolitical and ideological assumptions that have shaped the present vision of a vast technical fix for bioterrorism. It will also attempt to appraise some of the implications of the Bush counterbioterrorism policy for the effectiveness of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention as a restraint on recourse to biological warfare and for the future development of biotechnology.
Susan Wright is Research Scientist in the History of
Science and Science Policy in the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and
a member of the Residential College STS faculty. Her research has focused on the
history and politics of biotechnology and on the global politics of biological
warfare and disarmament. She is currently a consultant for a research project at
the
Friday, 5
November
STS
Distinguished Lecturer
Reinventing Eden: Science and the Fate of Nature in Western
Culture
Carolyn Merchant
Professor of
Environmental History, Philosophy, and Ethics
Environmental Science, Policy,
and Management
University of California, Berkeley
Monday, 22
November
Robots and
Reproduction: The Eugenics of Japanese Modernity
Jennifer Robertson
Anthropology
University
of Michigan
Monday, 6 December
The Network Fetish
Nicholas B. King
Epidemiology
University of Michigan