ePrints

Softly, softly: Comparative silences in British stories of genetic modification

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Cathrine Degnen

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.

Abstract

Since the late 1990s genetically modified foods, crops, and products have provoked a great deal of controversy in Britain. This article does not challenge the presence of debate over genetic modification in Britain, but rather calls attention to public silences on genetic modification that have often been overlooked. Drawing on multi-sited fieldwork in two parts of the north of England, I explore the ways in which these silences were not equally present across both fieldsites. I argue that this is partly due to the intersection of local histories with the ideological framing of genetic modification by the British government as a question of and for scientific expertise. I also explore how silence on the topic may be a form of what Sheriff (2000) has termed ‘cultural censorship’. Finally, I discuss the theoretical and methodological difficulties of studying and writing about silence, proposing that silences can importantly highlight issues of political and social salience.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Degnen C

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Focaal

Year: 2006

Volume: 48

Pages: 67-82

ISSN (print): 0920-1297

ISSN (electronic): 1558-5263

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/092012906780646299

DOI: 10.3167/092012906780646299

Altmetrics

Share