Editing the Soul: Science and Fiction in the Genome Age

276 Pages·2017·5.446 MB·English

by  Everett Hamner

Editing the Soul
Anthropo(cid:54)(cid:497)(cid:70)(cid:79)(cid:70)
the slsa book series
Lucinda Cole and Robert Markley, General Editors Published in collaboration with the Society for
Literature, Science, and the Arts, AnthropoScene
Advisory Board:
presents books that examine relationships and
Stacy Alaimo (University of Texas at Arlington)
points of intersection among the natural, biological,
Ron Broglio (Arizona State University)
and applied sciences and the literary, visual, and
Carol Colatrella (Georgia Institute of Technology)
performing arts. Books in the series promote new
Heidi Hutner (Stony Brook University)
kinds of cross-disciplinary thinking arising from the
Stephanie LeMenager (University of Oregon)
idea that humans are changing the planet and its
Christopher Morris (University of Texas at Arlington)
environments in radical and irreversible ways.
Laura Otis (Emory University)
Will Potter (Washington, D.C.)
Ronald Schleifer (University of Oklahoma)
Susan Squier (Pennsylvania State University)
Rajani Sudan (Southern Methodist University)
Kari Weil (Wesleyan University)
Editing the Soul
Science and Fiction in the Genome Age
Everett Hamner
The Pennsylvania
State University Press
University Park,
Pennsylvania
“Gay Gene Isolated, Ostracized” in chapter 1 orig- Copyright © 2017 Everett Hamner
inally appeared in the “News in Brief” section of All rights reserved
Th e Onion 44.26. 9 April 1997. Printed in the United States of America
Reprinted with permission of Th e Onion. Published by
Copyright © 2017, by Onion Inc. Th e Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA 16802- 1003
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication
Data Th e Pennsylvania State University Press is
a member of the Association of American
Names: Hamner, Everett, 1975– , author. University Presses.
Title: Editing the soul : science and fi ction in the
genome age / Everett Hamner. It is the policy of Th e Pennsylvania State
Description: University Park, Pennsylvania : Th e University Press to use acid- free paper.
Pennsylvania State University Press, [2017] | Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the
Series: AnthropoScene: the SLSA book series | minimum requirements of American National
Includes bibliographical references and index. Standard for Information Sciences— Permanence
Summary: “An interdisciplinary exploration of of Paper for Printed Library Material, ansi
how genetic engineering is transforming our z39.48- 1992.
narratives about the core of human person-
hood, and how those narratives are shaping
offi cial policies”—Provided by publisher.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2017033621| ISBN
9780271079325 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN
9780271079332 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Genetic engineering in literature.
| Cloning in literature. | Science fi ction—
History and criticism.
Classifi cation: LCC PN3433.6 .H364 2017 | DDC
809.3/8762—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.
gov/2017033621
The interesting thing about hope is that if you don’t have
any hope then there’s less hope. It is a self- generating
thing. So if you do have it, there’s likely to be more.
— Margaret Atwood
Say it has happened already, just the way it will.
— Richard Powers

Contents
Acknowledgments | ix
Introduction: Regenesis | 1
1. Genetics as Science, Ideology, and Fiction | 31
2. The Evolution of Genetic Fantasy | 59
3. The Cultural Determinism of Genetic
Realism | 91
4. Serpent Women, Prophets,
and Satire in Genetic Metafi ction | 133
5. The Predisposed Agency
of Genetics and Fiction | 175
Coda: Arrival | 209
Notes | 225
Works Cited | 237
Index | 249

Acknowledgments
I would never have been in a position to begin this project without the invest-
ments of numerous academic mentors. I doubt Yucaipa High School (CA) has
ever off ered its students a stronger combination of English teachers than the
eyebrow- raising David Braxton, the inestimable Scott Smith, and the multital-
ented Tom Roper, who also taught me AP Physics. Neil Hertz and Robert Massa
believed in me during and aft er my undergraduate years at Johns Hopkins, and
in my fi rst years of teaching at the Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, Kay Schuyler
pushed me to new heights. At Regent College in Vancouver, Maxine Hancock,
Charles Ringma, John Stackhouse, the late Roger Lundin, and especially Loren
and Mary Ruth Wilkinson— godparents to my children— were immeasurably
infl uential. In the University of Iowa’s stellar English department, my many
hours with dissertation committee members Lori Branch, David Klemm,
Brooks Landon, and Harry Stecopoulos and unparalleled codirectors Claire
Fox and Garrett Stewart were wonderfully transformative. During these years,
I was immensely grateful for support from the Hodson Trust, the Woodrow
Wilson Foundation, and the University of Iowa Graduate College.
My interdisciplinary habits have grown signifi cantly through the oppor-
tunity to teach widely across literary, fi lm, science, and religious studies at
Western Illinois University (WIU). Th is book was composed in large mea-
sure during a sabbatical, the release for which I am indebted to my chair,
Mark Mossman, and dean, Susan Martinelli- Fernandez, as well as the provost,
president, and board of trustees. Among many other dedicated colleagues at
WIU, I am especially thankful for support from Kristi Mindrup, Emily Pitz,
Joe Rives, Alison Shook, Jim Schmidt, and Tom Finley and long- running
conversations with David Banash, Amy Carr, Andrea Hyde, Amy Mossman,
Jim Patterson, Jim Rabchuk, Shazia Rahman, Susan Romano, and Tammy
Werner. Editing the Soul is also hard to imagine without having been able to
teach several courses on its subject matter. A huge thanks to all the students
x who made those classes so rich, especially Allyson Borkgren, Joseph Boyle,
Chelsea Clearman, Kirsten Dillender, Aaron Graf, Sarah Horowitz, Matthew
Lewerenz, Raymond Norris, Chris Sanders- Ring, Kris Souza, and Gina
Wilkerson. I also want to honor contributions in other courses from Zach
Almquist, Cait Bodenbender, Hayleigh Covella, Bryan Dietsch, Steve Long,
Julia McMeekan, and Nikki Steinbaugh.
Academia thrives when leading scholars choose to invest in junior fac-
ulty well beyond their own institutions. My list of mentor friends begins with
Tracy Fessenden, Clark Gilpin, Philip Goff , Paul Harvey, and everyone at
the Young Scholars in American Religion program at Indiana University–
Purdue University Indianapolis, including the members of my 2009– 11 cohort.
Ronald M. Green has long provided signifi cant encouragement for this project,
and more recently, Regenia Gagnier and John Dupré opened doors for me
to expand my relationships with UK scholars. I have also received valuable
encouragement and advice over the years from Michael Bérubé, Jay Clayton,
Istvan Csiscery- Ronay Jr., Paul Gutjahr, Michael Kaufmann, Susan Squier,
and Sherryl Vint. Finally, Priscilla Wald has been one of my most infl uential
supporters and interlocutors for a decade now. I cannot imagine this book
existing without her scholarship or her personal commitment as an informal
adviser and friend.
Th ere are far too many colleagues who have shaped my thinking and
fueled my eff orts for me to list here. Still, among my friends in literary studies,
I must mention Angela Balla, Dan Boscaljon, Gerry Canavan, Mike Chasar,
Liam Corley, Ann Jurecic, Heidi Kim, Kevin Seidel, and Chad Wriglesworth.
Rebekah Sheldon, you get an extraspecial shout- out for hard root beer ice
cream fl oats and all they symbolize. Among the many friends in religious
studies and history whose insights have strengthened my work, Ed Blum,
Nathaniel Comfort, Charles Irons, Lynn Neal, Jon Ebel, Maura Farrelly, Nancy
Menning, and Matthew Sutton stand out. Finally, among the scientists who
have encouraged my scholarship, I want to thank especially Salman Hameed,
Chuck Lydeard, and fellow Darwin Dayers John Logsdon and Maurine
Neiman.
One element of academia I oft en lament is real and perceived divisions
between “creative” and “critical” writers. Contra that narrative, I have been
enormously thankful to have broken bread with several authors and other art-
ists whose work features heavily in this book, including Margaret Atwood,
Jeff rey Eugenides, Cosima Herter, Ursula K. Le Guin, Graeme Manson, and
Editing the Soul