The focus of this research project is on the way in which valid knowledge on the role and implications of biotechnology in New Zealand society is contested, negotiated and constructed. We are interested in who speaks in this debate and on whose behalf, what discursive resources are deployed, and (following Foucault) how various technologies of production and power operate to produce the “truth” of biotechnology.

Particular themes in this project include how science is represented in the debate over genetic modification, how concepts such as sustainability and risk are implicated in discourse on biotechnology, and how the conduct of biotechnology in New Zealand is legitimated though discourse.

For more information contact: Judy Motion

Research Team:

Bill Doolin
Judy Motion