Lesley Sharp: Bodies, Commodities, and Biotechnologies & Strange Harvest

December 1, 2006 / 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Labyrinth Books
536 West 112th Street
New York, NY 10025

From Labyrinth:

About Bodies, Commodities, and Biotechnologies:

In the United States today, the human body defines a lucrative site of reusable parts, ranging from whole organs to minuscule and even microscopic tissues. Although the medical practices that enable the transfer of parts from one body to another most certainly relieve suffering and extend lives, they have also irrevocably altered perceptions of the cultural values assigned to the body.

About Strange Harvest:

Strange Harvest illuminates the wondrous yet disquieting medical realm of organ transplantation by drawing on the voices of those most deeply involved: transplant recipients, clinical specialists, and the surviving kin of deceased organ donors.

Lesley A. Sharp is professor of anthropology at Barnard College and associate professor of anthropology and Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.