Modern Genes

The main objective of this ethnological compilation thesis is to investigate the linkage between everyday life with a genetic disease and intrinsic patterns of modernity. The thesis is based upon four individual articles each addressing the everyday experience Huntington’s disease. The thesis shows a diver- gence between the lifeworld of the affected individuals and various systems that rely on instrumental rationality for achiev- ing their objectives. This divergence constitutes a cultural pattern of modernity, which gave rise to ambivalences that offered forms of cultural and social change. By investigating the link between everyday experiences with general cultural patterns of modernity, the thesis does then provide a deeper knowledge upon the interactions between genetic science, culture and society.