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May 21, 2019 | |
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9781421427492 | |
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$67.00 USD, £55.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Global Forensic Cultures
Making Fact and Justice in the Modern Era
Essays explore forensic science in global and historical context, opening a critical window onto contemporary debates about the universal validity of present-day genomic forensic practices.
Contemporary forensic science has achieved unprecedented visibility as a compelling example of applied expertise. But the common public view—that we are living in an era of forensic deliverance, one exemplified by DNA typing—has masked the reality: that forensic science has always been unique, problematic, and contested. Global Forensic Cultures aims to rectify this problem by recognizing the universality of forensic questions and the variety of practices and institutions constructed to answer them.
Groundbreaking essays written by leaders in the field address the complex and contentious histories of forensic techniques. Contributors also examine the co-evolution of these techniques with the professions creating and using them, with the systems of governance and jurisprudence in which they are used, and with the socioeconomic, political, racial, and gendered settings of that use. Exploring the profound effect of "location" (temporal and spatial) on the production and enactment of forms of forensic knowledge during the century before CSI became a household acronym, the book explores numerous related topics, including the notion of burden of proof, changing roles of experts and witnesses, the development and dissemination of forensic techniques and skills, the financial and practical constraints facing investigators, and cultures of forensics and of criminality within and against which forensic practitioners operate.
Covering sites of modern and historic forensic innovation in the United States, Europe, and farther-flung imperial and global settings, these essays tell stories of blood, poison, corpses; tracking persons and attesting documents; truth-making, egregious racism, and sinister surveillance. Each chapter is a finely grained case study. Collectively, Global Forensic Cultures supplies a historical foundation for the critical appraisal of contemporary forensic institutions which has begun in the wake of DNA-based exonerations.
Contributors: Bruno Bertherat, José Ramón Bertomeu Sánchez, Binyamin Blum, Ian Burney, Marcus B. Carrier, Simon A. Cole, Christopher Hamlin, Jeffrey Jentzen, Projit Bihari Mukharji, Quentin (Trais) Pearson, Mitra Sharafi, Gagan Preet Singh, Heather Wolffram
About the Authors
Ian Burney is the director of the University of Manchester's Centre for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine. He is the author of Bodies of Evidence: Medicine and the Politics of the English Inquest, 1830–1926 and a coauthor of Murder and the Making of English CSI. Christopher Hamlin is a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of More than Hot: A Short History of Fever.
Endorsements
"This original book both expands upon and goes beyond existing scholarship on the history of forensic science and medicine. It is notable for its treatment of multiple forensic disciplines—ranging from pathology to fingerprinting to DNA identification—and various locations, including colonies, semi-colonial states, and metropoles."
"This book is unique in both its theme and treatment. Truly interdisciplinary, yet focused on a largely ignored 'silent witness.' Like history itself, forensics reconstructs, helps 'traces' become truths, and remains engaged in pursuit of rationality and accountability. An excellent example of micro-history on a global canvas!"
"In a set of pioneering essays that span the globe and reframe the genre, the authors challenge the presumed independence and objectivity of forensic investigations. With its critical attention to technique, authority, and detail, this is a highly original enquiry into the meaning and value of scientific culture."
"This edited volume is an important step towards a much-needed global, comparative, and cultural history of forensic science. The chapters convincingly demonstrate how modern forensic science is inextricably connected to race, ethnicity, location, and nationalism, regardless of its claim to objectivity."
"This groundbreaking volume embodies a major shift in the historiography of forensic evidence. It traces the conditions under which new scientific techniques came to be used in the detection and prosecution of crime and the recovery of innocence as expert communities emerged in a range of cultures around the globe."
"Congratulations to the editors for producing such a diverse collection of fascinating essays on the history of forensic medicine and science. This book illustrates the wide role of forensic practice in different jurisdictions in varying periods of history, and it points the way to further study."
Johns Hopkins University Press | |
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From 17 | |
Hardback | |
May 21, 2019 | |
9781421427492 | |
English | |
356 | |
144230 | |
8 | |
9.00 Inches (US) | |
6.00 Inches (US) | |
1.12 Inches (US) | |
1.35 Pounds (US) | |
$67.00 USD, £55.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Electronic book text | |
May 21, 2019 | |
9781421427508 | |
9781421427492 | |
English | |
356 | |
144230 | |
8 | |
9.00 Inches (US) | |
6.00 Inches (US) | |
$67.00 USD, £55.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |