Dear colleagues,

We invite papers for a special issue: “Manufacturing Life” in NanoEthics. Studies of New and Emerging Technologies (https://link.springer.com/journal/11569)

This special issue of NanoEthics “Manufacturing Life” aims to gather research and insights about the (re-)constructions of living beings through practices in life sciences and technology with a focus on cultural, ethical and social issues related to nano-, bio-, information and cognitive sciences and technologies (NBIC). It is expected that the convergence of these fields will lead to a substantial transformation of the corporeality of living beings, their interrelations to each other and to technology. Human pathways are bound up with other species, like microbes, plants and animals, but they are also bound up with technology. However, in western contemporary civilization technology is construed as something “opposite” of human beings, which are designated as “natural” entities. Relying on nature and culture as extreme, opposing reference points is a necessary premise for most inequality-related oppositions (e.g. relying on nature often legitimize discrimination as a “given fact”). However, enhancement practices (including “plant enhancement”, “animal enhancement” or “human enhancement” through Brain-Machine Interfaces, genome editing, prosthetics, etc.) are already manufacturing life in different ways, using different enhancement technologies, combining them (both living beings and technologies) in different environments, creating new entities, like organic-inorganic/ human-nonhuman entanglements, similar to cyborgs or human-animal chimera and also socio-technical systems. How will these affect the above-mentioned human-technology opposition? What will be the consequences for contemporary western culture that is still built on the pillars of humanism and a dualistic, cartesian approach? What other intersections and practices without this dualistic view can be observed and to what extent are they undermining regimes of injustice that are relying on the social construction of nature and culture as distinct separate areas of knowledge and influence?

This special issue is interested in contributions based on research examining practices and/or impacts of manufacturing life; and by showing organic-inorganic/human-nonhuman entanglements how manufacturing life can be approached and theorized. Following issues are of special interest:

–        socio-technical, cultural, ethical, legal and political aspects of manufacturing life
–        micro practices of nano-, bio-, information and cognitive sciences and technologies (NBIC) and macro effects of manufacturing life
–        new forms of biotech tissues and bodies, e.g. in-vitro-meat, CRISPR/Cas9 enhanced plants, chimera, cyborgs and crips
–        modification of life through media, impacts of intermediaries
–        new forms of multi-species environments infiltrated by life science and technology
–        practices and impacts of human-nonhuman interrelations and the “algorithmic logic” affecting life
–        socio-technical imaginaries and visions of manufacturing life
–        multi-species ethnography, multi-species anthropology and sociology
–        living and working in sociotechnical / organic-inorganic environments
–        new forms of dis/ability, gender, and inequalities of life

Interested authors should send an abstract (250 words) and a short author-bio (200 words) to diego.compagna@hm.edu and sahinol@oiist.org by the 17^th of November, 2019. Authors will be notified of the status of their submission by the 30^th of November. Completed papers will be due by the 30^th of April 2020 for the journal’s double-blind peer-review process.

The papers are not automatically open access; Springer offers open access for a fee. However, after publication each author will receive a link that s/he can share, for example, via email, social platforms or one’s own website. Anyone using this link can read the paper online and can copy and paste from it. After one year, the author’s final draft – not the version formatted by the journal – may be shared in repositories, etc., as long as a link to the article in the journal is included.

After the production and proofing process, accepted papers are immediately published online first, and given a DOI.

For information and questions please do not hesitate to contact the guest editors:

Prof. Dr. Diego Compagna (diego.compagnaAThm.edu) & Dr. Melike Şahinol (sahinolAToiist.org).

Picture: virus-1675421_1280.jpg, Pixabay License, user: mmmCCC