BUCH
Representations of Organ Transplants
Western Fantasies and Black Market Realities
Beiträge zur neueren Literaturgeschichte [Dritte Folge], Bd. 333
2014
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Abstract
Among the many spectacular scientific breakthroughs of the last hundred years, developments in biotechnology have perhaps been the most noteworthy. Bill Gates even claimed that if he were a teenager today, he’d be hacking biology. For many people, however, biotechnologies such as organ transplantation entail more than the mere exchange of cells and human tissue. As sites of cultural work, literary texts participate in the discourse on transplantation. They create a cultural field where opposing views on transplant surgery struggle for expression without cancelling one another. The result is an interdisciplinary echo chamber that allows readers to pinpoint specific areas of cultural disruption involved in transplantation. Analyzing literary fiction hence constitutes a significant point of departure for those who continue to struggle with the peculiar and essentially disturbing phenomenon of organ transplantation.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
| Zwischenüberschrift | Seite | Aktion | Preis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgements | 5 | ||
| CONTENTS | 7 | ||
| 1 Introduction | 9 | ||
| 2 Theoretical and Methodological Framing | 15 | ||
| 3 Organ Transplants: ‘Gifts of Life’ between Altruism and Butchery | 27 | ||
| 3.1 A Short History of Organ Transplants | 28 | ||
| 3.2 Medical-Ethical Discourse | 33 | ||
| 3.3 Juridical Discourse | 38 | ||
| 3.4 Religious and Philosophical Discourse | 45 | ||
| 3.5 Anthropological Discourse and Practice | 49 | ||
| 3.6 The Economics of Organ Transplantation | 52 | ||
| 3.6.1 Allocation | 57 | ||
| 3.6.2 Body Upgrading | 58 | ||
| 4 Cultural Images of Organ Transplants | 61 | ||
| 4.1 Early Myths and Tales on Physical Transformation | 61 | ||
| 4.2 Beyond Frankenstein – Contemporary Imaginings about Organ Transplants | 72 | ||
| 4.2.1 Being ¼ Salomea Tinnel: STANISLAW LEM’S LAYER CAKE | 73 | ||
| 4.2.2 Medical Carnage: ROBIN COOK’S COMA | 87 | ||
| 4.2.3 Of Spare Parts and Flowerbeds: A. K. RAMANUJAN’S ‘DEATH AND THE GOOD CITIZEN’ ULRIKE DRAESNER’S‘AUTOPILOT I-IV | 117 | ||
| 4.2.4 Spiritual Vacuity and Corporeal Disobedience: TOMIO TADA’S THE WELL OF IGNORANCE DEA LOHER’S HÄNDE | 141 | ||
| 4.2.5 Plucking at the Heartstrings: JOHN IRVING’S THE FOURTH HAND | 160 | ||
| 4.2.6 Doing ‘Happy’ Global Business: CHRIS ABANI’S GRACELAND | 182 | ||
| 4.2.7 An Organ Incubator Called Sweetheart: KAZUO ISHIGURO’S NEVER LET ME GO | 202 | ||
| 4.2.8 On Lego People: SABINE GRUBER’S ÜBER NACHT | 224 | ||
| 5 The (Literary) Discourse on Organ Transplants: Intercultural Comparison | 251 | ||
| 5.1 The Use of Medical-Technical Language | 252 | ||
| 5.2 Militaristic Imagery | 257 | ||
| 5.3 Mechanisms of Naturalization | 262 | ||
| 5.4 Enmity, Othering and Alliances in Donor-Recipient Relationships | 266 | ||
| 5.5 Structural Features of ‘Transplant Literature | 271 | ||
| 5.6 Popular and Highbrow Modes | 274 | ||
| 5.7 The Meaning of Culture | 278 | ||
| 6 Final Remarks about the Achievements of Literature in Times of Transplant Technology | 285 | ||
| 7 Bibliography | 289 |
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