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Session Submission Summary

Concepts and Practices of ELSI: 1. ELSI as a Political Terrain

Sat, September 1, 9:00 to 10:30am, ICC, E3.5

Session Submission Type: Open Panel

Abstract

This is the first of the two open-panel sessions on “Concepts and Practices of ELSI: Exploration of its plurality.” Almost three decades have passed since the program on ethical, legal, and social implications/issues (ELSI) was first conceived in the United States as part of the Human Genome Project. Scientists and policymakers increasingly accept the idea that major scientific breakthroughs and development of novel technologies ought to be accompanied by discussion on their ELSI. This trend has also provided a potential platform through which scholars of social sciences and humanities, including those specialized in the field of STS, can engage and, in some instances, critique what is being done in a laboratory and beyond. However, understandings of what counts as ELSI as well as practices intended to address it seem to differ considerably across places, times, and topics. The sessions aim to explore such plurality of ELSI – in terms of both its concepts and practices.

This first session focuses on recent advances in bioscience/biotechnology and examines how their ELSI is framed. Because framing of their ELSI reflects who has the voice in their governance and also indicates what kind(s) of action would have to be taken to address it, it is an important part of their politics. We look at various ELSIs of emerging biosciences/biotechnology through a STS lens and examine how they contribute to making (and unmaking of) such biosciences/biotechnology in this session.

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