Stark, JF orcid.org/0000-0002-0638-0804 (2018) Perspectives on Human Regeneration. Palgrave Communications, 4. 66. ISSN 2055-1045
Abstract
Regeneration is a concept that has fascinated humans for centuries. Whether we have been trying to bring things back to life, extract additional resources from the world, or remodel our living spaces—domestic and urban—it is often presented as an unproblematic force for good. But what exactly does it mean to regenerate a body, mind or space? This paper, which introduces a collection of contributions on the theme of human regeneration, explores the limits and possibilities of regeneration as a conceptual tool for understanding the biological realm. What does it mean to be regenerated? How can a scholarly focus on this concept enrich our histories of bodies, ageing, disability and science, technology and medicine? As a secondary goal, I identify two distinct aspects of regeneration—'hard' and 'soft' regeneration—which concern the medical and social elements of regeneration respectively. By recognising that everything from cosmetics and fictions to prosthetics and organs grown in vitro display a combination of 'hard' and 'soft' elements, we are better placed to understand that the biological and social must be considered in consort for us to fully appreciate the meanings and practices that underpin multiple forms of human regeneration.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) The Author(s) 2018. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Medical humanities; History of medicine; History of science; History of technology |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Wellcome Trust 108342/Z/15/Z |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 19 Apr 2018 15:53 |
Last Modified: | 29 Jun 2018 14:42 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan |
Identification Number: | 10.1057/s41599-018-0118-4 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:129812 |