Overview

Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression and has been heralded as one of the most promising new fields of scientific inquiry. Current large-scale pregnancy studies draw on epigenetics to connect pregnant women’s behavioral choices, like diet and exercise, to future health risks for unborn babies. As the first ethnography of its kind, Weighing the Future examines the sociopolitical implications of ongoing pregnancy trials in the United States and the United Kingdom, illuminating how processes of scientific knowledge production are linked to capitalism, surveillance, and environmental reproduction. The environments we imagine to shape our genes, bodies, and future health are tied to race, gender, and structures of inequality. This groundbreaking book makes the case that science, and how we translate it, is a reproductive project that requires feminist vigilance. Instead of fixating on a future at risk, this book brings attention to the present at stake.

Full Product Details

Author:   Natali Valdez
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Volume:   9
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.363kg
ISBN:  

9780520380141

ISBN 10:   0520380142
Pages:   284
Publication Date:   14 December 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Weighing the Future    Part I 1. Epistemic Environments: Reproducing Solutions    to Past, Present, and Future Maternal Health 2. Un/Altered: The Durability of Individualized    Interventions for Multidimensional Illness    Part II 3. Politics of Recruitment: How Fatness, Race,    and Risk Shape Contemporary Pregnancy Trials     4. Pregnant Narratives: Experiencing Lifestyle    Interventions        Part III 5. Environmental Animations: What Counts    as the Maternal Environment? 6. Prospecting Pregnancies: Data, Time,    and Speculative Value        Conclusion: The Afterbirth of Foreclosure    Epilogue: [The Future] Is Composed of Nows        Notes    References    Index

Reviews

"""A ground-breaking book, both subtle and razor-sharp in its analysis. It provides an immensely valuable critique of the workings of epigenetic foreclosure in pregnancy trials."" * Medical Anthropology Quarterly *"

A ground-breaking book, both subtle and razor-sharp in its analysis. It provides an immensely valuable critique of the workings of epigenetic foreclosure in pregnancy trials. * Medical Anthropology Quarterly *

Author Information

Natali Valdez is Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Wellesley College.

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