TY - JOUR
T1 - Wired to freedom
T2 - Life science, public politics, and the case of Cochlear Implantation
AU - Jepsen, Kim Sune Karrasch
AU - Bertilsson, Margareta
PY - 2017/2/1
Y1 - 2017/2/1
N2 - Cochlear Implantation is now regarded as the most successful medical technology. It carries promises to provide deaf/hearing impaired individuals with a technological sense of hearing and an access to participate on a more equal level in social life. In this article, we explore the adoption of cochlear implantations among Danish users in order to shed more light on their social and political implications. We situate cochlear implantation in a framework of new life science advances, politics, and user experiences. Analytically, we draw upon the notion of social imaginary and explore the social dimension of life science through a notion of public politics adopted from the political theory of John Dewey. We show how cochlear implantation engages different social imaginaries on the collective and individual levels and we suggest that users share an imaginary of being “wired to freedom” that involves new access to social life, continuous communicative challenges, common practices, and experiences. In looking at their lives as “wired to freedom,” we hope to promote a wider spectrum of civic participation in the benefit of future life science developments within and beyond the field of Cochlear Implantation. As our empirical observations are largely based in the Scandinavian countries (notably Denmark), we also provide some reflections on the character of the technology-friendly Scandinavian welfare states and the unintended consequences that may follow in the wake of rapid technology implementation of life science in society.
AB - Cochlear Implantation is now regarded as the most successful medical technology. It carries promises to provide deaf/hearing impaired individuals with a technological sense of hearing and an access to participate on a more equal level in social life. In this article, we explore the adoption of cochlear implantations among Danish users in order to shed more light on their social and political implications. We situate cochlear implantation in a framework of new life science advances, politics, and user experiences. Analytically, we draw upon the notion of social imaginary and explore the social dimension of life science through a notion of public politics adopted from the political theory of John Dewey. We show how cochlear implantation engages different social imaginaries on the collective and individual levels and we suggest that users share an imaginary of being “wired to freedom” that involves new access to social life, continuous communicative challenges, common practices, and experiences. In looking at their lives as “wired to freedom,” we hope to promote a wider spectrum of civic participation in the benefit of future life science developments within and beyond the field of Cochlear Implantation. As our empirical observations are largely based in the Scandinavian countries (notably Denmark), we also provide some reflections on the character of the technology-friendly Scandinavian welfare states and the unintended consequences that may follow in the wake of rapid technology implementation of life science in society.
KW - Faculty of Social Sciences
KW - governance of science and technology
KW - public participation
KW - public understanding of science
KW - studies of science and technology
U2 - 10.1177/0963662515602849
DO - 10.1177/0963662515602849
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 26369559
SN - 0963-6625
VL - 26
SP - 164
EP - 178
JO - Public Understanding of Science
JF - Public Understanding of Science
IS - 2
M1 - 3
ER -