Biohacking, bodies and do-it-yourself : : the cultural politics of hacking life itself / / Mirjam Grewe-Salfeld.

• VerfasserIn: Grewe-Salfeld, Mirjam,
• Place / Publishing House: Bielefeld, Germany : : transcript Verlag,, [2022]
• Year of Publication: 2021; 2022
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: American Culture Studies
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (314 p.); 233 MB

From self-help books and nootropics, to self-tracking and home health tests, to the tinkering with technology and biological particles - biohacking brings biology, medicine, and the material foundation of life into the sphere of »do-it-yourself«. This trend has the potential to fundamentally change people's relationship with their bodies and biology but it also creates new cultural narratives of responsibility, authority, and differentiation. Covering a broad range of examples, this book explores practices and representations of biohacking in popular culture, discussing their ambiguous position between empowerment and requirement, promise and prescription.

Table of Contents

Cover -- Contents -- Preface: Amidst a Global Pandemic -- PART I: INTRODUCTIONS -- 1 Introduction: Biotechnologies, Bodies and Biomakers -- 2 Biology and Culture - an Overview of the Field -- PART II: BACKGROUND -- 3 The Promise of Small Things - The Cultural Presence of (Molecular) Biology -- 4 With my Own two Hands - Tracing DIY from Individualism to Maker Culture -- PART III: 'HACKING' LIFE ITSELF -- 5 'Hacking' Life Itself - In Pursuit of a Definition -- 6 #iambulletproof - A Layperson's Guide to Self-Enhancement -- 7 A Pill for Every Ill - Drugs and Supplements -- 8 Test Yourself - Making the Invisible Visible -- 9 Homo Technologicus? - The Technological Self, Inside Out -- 10 "The Human Need to Fiddle" - Tinkering with Technology -- PART IV: REFLECTIONS -- 11 Discussing DIY -- 12 Conclusion: Between Politics and Promise -- Works Cited.