Engineering Life: Longevity, Biotechnology, and Silicon Valley Culture

3 credits · Graduate

In the past several years, the media has covered sensational attempts by former and current tech CEOs to extend their lifespans via expensive supplement stacks, blood transfusions, and experimental gene therapies. But what is the broader history of life extension and its relationship to technology and Silicon Valley culture? How did the dream of engineering life come to be, especially where it concerns treating aging, health, and even death as technical problems? What can this tell us about the broader project of human enhancement, and its consequences for our understandings of race, gender, and disability? In this course we will examine the engineering approach to the body, and its relationship to concepts such as energy, fatigue, health, and vitality. We will explore technoscientific practices such as cellular rejuvenation, organ replacement, organ transplants, assisted reproductive technologies, and genetic engineering, which raise important questions about the social implications of modifying life. Readings will be drawn from a variety of sources - academic papers, magazine articles, books, and popular media. We will also analyze podcasts, films, and video essays, to support a variety of learning styles. By the end of the course, you will have a solid understanding of major themes related to health, optimization, and the body within the field of science and technology studies. You will also sharpen your ability to think carefully and write clearly about emergent socio-cultural trends.