tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post1263678503946798481..comments2024-03-29T14:03:27.321+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: Seeking Cellvation: HeLa Cells and ImmortalityJames Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-31698061870020727862010-08-07T17:14:48.936+03:002010-08-07T17:14:48.936+03:00If it is half as good as the article she wrote as ...If it is half as good as the article she wrote as a student, it would probably be worth reading at some point. <br /><br />Donna Haraway (whom Landecker references) is another historian I really like who looks deeply into the "meaning" of these things. Difficult to read, but fascinating. <br /><br />Her "Teddy Bear Patriarchy" is brilliant, about TR and the American Museum avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-29142848585742369092010-08-07T17:03:51.170+03:002010-08-07T17:03:51.170+03:00The Landecker book, Culturing Life, looks very int...The Landecker book, Culturing Life, looks very interesting, as she appears to get more into the biotech side of it, past and present, with reference to the HeLa cell.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-29061613106548213672010-08-07T14:54:55.025+03:002010-08-07T14:54:55.025+03:00Very disjointed book. One gets the sense that thi...Very disjointed book. One gets the sense that this is more a work in progress and could have used more editing. It is only at about the halfway point where Skloot finally comes in contact with the family, presenting them in an all too stereotypical fashion. This may have been what it was, but it certainly could have used a little more literary polish.<br /><br />I think you are right, Carol, James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-11493081045585115142010-08-06T16:29:25.090+03:002010-08-06T16:29:25.090+03:00Yes, the notes contain an overview of her sources....Yes, the notes contain an overview of her sources. Not exactly "footnotes" but you can see the materials she has looked at there. <br /><br />I hate to jump in ahead of where you are, Gintaras, but the scholarship is definitely a mixed bag from my reading. Some of the "history of science" chapters are interesting and I'm assuming informative to both lay and more avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-64933889254201803182010-08-06T02:27:49.872+03:002010-08-06T02:27:49.872+03:00Isn't the bib. incorporated into the notes?Isn't the bib. incorporated into the notes?Martihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11341915969684349287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-11590455756608408072010-08-04T09:27:10.893+03:002010-08-04T09:27:10.893+03:00That is kind of odd not providing a bibliography f...That is kind of odd not providing a bibliography for a "history" book. The more I read, the more concerned I become about her level of scholarship.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-47020347514312321102010-08-04T02:44:23.178+03:002010-08-04T02:44:23.178+03:00Skloot has no bibliography, explaining that her so...Skloot has no bibliography, explaining that her sources were "too extensive to list in their entirety." She does refer to the Landauer book in her notes, as providing a review of the scientific activities involving HeLa cells. The notes indicate a deep and wide reading in the relevant science literature.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05818522346723485679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-4942866156829170952010-08-02T21:52:50.643+03:002010-08-02T21:52:50.643+03:00Sounds like it could be an interesting book. Can&...Sounds like it could be an interesting book. Can't remember offhand whether Skloot references Landecker in her bibliography, but it seems that the essence of her book is contained in this essay, and from her preface Skloot took interest in the story in the late 90s.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-81237607734455410862010-08-02T16:47:59.426+03:002010-08-02T16:47:59.426+03:00I was so taken with this article that I just looke...I was so taken with this article that I just looked up what else she has written. Probably not any of our cups of tea, but here's the book that no doubt came from her dissertation:<br /><br />Culturing Life: How Cells Became Technologies, Harvard University Press, 2007<br /><br />Landecker now teaches at UCLA.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-73873260222784114382010-08-01T17:50:26.479+03:002010-08-01T17:50:26.479+03:00Thanks, Gintaras. This is an excellent analysis o...Thanks, Gintaras. This is an excellent analysis of the HeLa cell "phenomena" and helps uncover the underlying racist and sexist implications of the story, which in many ways Skloot seems oblivious to -- or at least unable to fully understand and reflect upon. Too bad Landecker didn't write the book.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.com