Biology & Social Science
The Berkeley Center for the Anthropology of the Contemporary
(BC/AC) was founded in 2002, and officially inaugurated as
part of the MSI in 2003. BC/AC was founded on the premise
that an avalanche of new knowledge (especially but not exclusively
in the molecular sciences) is transforming our understanding
of living beings as well as our conditions of life. BC/AC
is devoted to developing original experimental techniques,
refined concepts, and innovative forms of communication that
are better suited than those currently available to understand
the complexity and dynamic of the contemporary situation.
In 2002, from quite diverse paths, Prof. Brent and Prof.
Rabinow arrived at the conclusion that we need to create
a space in which human scientists (who have become fluent
in the language and practices of contemporary biosciences)
can work in close proximity to an interdisciplinary group
(of bio-scientists, biochemists, bioinformatics specialists,
technicians, physicists, etc.) seeking to develop a new biology.
Convinced that achieving this goal requires new institutional
arrangements, Prof. Brent and Prof. Rabinow decided to house
the BC/AC at the MSI. As an initial means of exploring this
new problem space, Prof. Brent and Prof. Rabinow taught an
undergraduate course on "Genomics and Citizenship: Towards
an Anthropology of Biology" together at the University
of California at Berkeley in Fall 2003, 2004 and 2005. During
the course it became clear that such interdisciplinary work
would neither merge anthropology and biology into a single
discipline nor situate the human sciences as a mere afterthought
to biology.
More information about this project and its development
over the years can be found at the Anthropology
of the Contemporary website.
Selected Further Reading (in PDF format)
Max Weber: Science as Vocation
Max Weber: "Objectivity" of
Social Science and Social Policy
Michel Foucault: Right
of Death and Power over Life (Biopower)
Michel Foucault: Security, Territory, Population
Paul Rabinow: Midst Anthropologies Problems
Paul Rabinow & Nikolas Rose: What
is Bio-power?
Paul Rabinow's talk at Synthetic Biology Conference, MIT
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