Editing Life. How Sociotechnical Vanguards Craft Visions of the Future

Academic Paper from the year 2019 in the subject Sociology - Miscellaneous, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: This paper discusses the semantic tools used by technological frontrunners to establish imaginaries in the light of the development of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology. A grounded inspired theory approach is employed to untangle these tools, used in an interview with a leading proponent and researcher in genetic engineering, George Church. The analysis identifies three tools ¿ narration, comparison and enticement ¿ that technological frontrunners utilize to translate their ideas into a convincing vision that has the potential to be incorporated into the collective imagination of sociotechnical futures.