The textures of globalization: biopolitics and the closure of xenotourism |
| |
| Authors: | Peta S Cook Gavin Kendall Mike Michael Nik Brown |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Faculty of Arts , School of Sociology and Social Work, University of Tasmania , Australia peta.cook@utas.edu.au;3. Queensland University of Technology , Australia;4. Centre for the Study of Invention and Social Process, University of London , Goldsmiths College, UK;5. Department of Sociology , Science and Technology Studies Unit, University of York , UK |
| |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore the tensions around a recent controversial development in medical tourism: xenotourism in Mexico. We take this bioendeavor – now ceased – to be emblematic of the global character of contemporary biomedicine, providing insights into the production and operation of scientific knowledge. We explore this through what we call the “textures of globalization”: the anxiety regarding the extent to which Mexico was understood as an (in)appropriate venue for the generation of novel knowledge on xenotransplantation, and as a location for xenotourism. These tensions, which oscillated between calls for individual freedom (choice) and global regulation (standardization), ultimately led to the closure of xenotourism in Mexico. |
| |
| Keywords: | xenotransplantation biopolitics globalization |
|
|
