Breakthroughs in the biotechnical sector are fundamentally changing our understanding of human life especially in areas such as reproduction, illness, old age, and death at the same time that the public sphere is transformed by neoliberal governance. Rüdiger Kunow explores these developments through the concept of "preemption," which seeks to control and possibly eliminate future risks before they emerge. In biomedical applications, preemption reengineers human life to enhance its performance and eliminate health- and age-related dysfunctions. Professor Kunow explores ethical concerns about the future of less-than-perfect forms of human life in a society organized by market relations.
Rüdiger Kunow is Chair of the American Studies program at Potsdam University. His major research interests and publications focus on cultural constructions of illness and aging, transnational American Studies and materialist cultural theory. As founding member of the European Network of Age Studies, he has recently co-edited the first-ever interdisciplinary collection on Age Studies within German American studies.