A Critical Look into the Classification of Emerging Entities

Session Submission Type: Open Panel

Abstract

A novel entity, be it synthetic, genetic or phytochemical, emerges as a result of advances in science and technology. At the level of public policy, the classification of such an entity is considered in the context of existing legal and regulatory categories for the securing of public safety. As both goods and services increasingly travel across national borders, it becomes imperative to understand how classificatory system for such goods and services are formulated and put into practice, and the contradictions that arise as a result. The proposed panel aims to understand and map diverse ways of defining an emerging entity across a range of commodities, as exemplified by shifting boundaries such as food versus drug, medical versus cosmetic interventions, as the new entity comes into contact with regulatory agencies and consumer markets at the national and global levels. Following on a body of literature in STS that examines classificatory systems, the departure point for this panel is the observation that a classificatory system is inevitably interlinked with cultural, historical, social, economic and political circumstances. Sharing research concerns about the ways in which official classifications with regards to food, drugs, and environmental matters have far-reaching consequences in many areas of public life (such as public policies, health food markets, and consumer perceptions), the contributors to this panel are expected to explore questions hinging on shifting boundaries of commodified objects.

Sub Unit

• Papers for Open Panels / A Critical Look into the Classification of Emerging Entities

Chair

• Eunjeong Ma, Pohang University of Science and Technology

Individual Presentations

• Labeling in an Emergent Food Category: Informative or Performative? - Tomiko Yamaguchi, International Christian University

• The Herb Pharmaceutical Industry in South Korea - Eunjeong Ma, Pohang University of Science and Technology

• Emerging Biomedical Technology and Healthcare System in Developing Economies - Nidhi Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Session Organizer

• Tomiko Yamaguchi, International Christian University