From the Inside Flap
This is a remarkable book by an extraordinary sociologist of science. Sara Shostak raises troubling questions about how we, as a society, avoid responsibility for the consequences of a variety of environmental exposures from lead, Bisphenol A, and other contaminants. Shostak persuasively argues that the historical origins of the genetic understanding of environmental disease lay not so much in advancing knowledge but more likely in the profound politics of science and of society. David Rosner, co-author of Lead Wars: The Politics of Science and the Fate of America's Children
This research offers a significant and unique window onto an emerging field that many people have little knowledge about and that many other people have strong views about. The insights and conclusions herein provide a new way of thinking about genomics and environmental politics and policy. David Pellow, author of Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago.
Professor Shostak is theoretically advanced, but manages to convey her theoretical approaches without the dense, clumsy language we see too often. Her analysis is nuanced overall, rendering a multicausal understanding of the complexity of these scientific developments and their associated cultural phenomena. Phil Brown, University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences, and Director of the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University
From the Back Cover
“This is a remarkable book by an extraordinary sociologist of science. Sara Shostak raises troubling questions about how we, as a society, avoid responsibility for the consequences of a variety of environmental exposures―from lead, Bisphenol A, and other contaminants. Shostak persuasively argues that the historical origins of the genetic understanding of environmental disease lay not so much in advancing knowledge but more likely in the profound politics of science and of society. ”―David Rosner, co-author of Lead Wars: The Politics of Science and the Fate of America's Children
“This research offers a significant and unique window onto an emerging field that many people have little knowledge about and that many other people have strong views about. The insights and conclusions herein provide a new way of thinking about genomics and environmental politics and policy.”―David Pellow, author of Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago.
“Professor Shostak is theoretically advanced, but manages to convey her theoretical approaches without the dense, clumsy language we see too often. Her analysis is nuanced overall, rendering a multicausal understanding of the complexity of these scientific developments and their associated cultural phenomena.”―Phil Brown, University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences, and Director of the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University
About the Author
Sara Shostak is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Brandeis University.
