ISSN 2283 - 7949

logo
Glocalism: Journal of culture, politics and innovation
logo
  • Home
  • About
  • Call for papers
  • Issues
  • Editorial Board
  • Publication Ethics
ISSUE 2014, 1-2: FEEDING THE PLANET. ENERGY FOR LIFE - Articles

Frischeregime: Biopolitik im Zeitalter der kryogenen Kultur.

Home ISSUES ISSUE 2014, 1-2: FEEDING THE PLANET. ENERGY FOR LIFE ISSUE 2014, 1-2: FEEDING THE PLANET. ENERGY FOR LIFE - Articles Frischeregime: Biopolitik im Zeitalter der kryogenen Kultur.
Marzo 16, 2020 by Alexander Friedrich and Stefan Höhne in ISSUE 2014, 1-2: FEEDING THE PLANET. ENERGY FOR LIFE - Articles
  • Abstract
  • Content
  • DOI

Abstract

Abstract: Feeding people means producing population. Biotechnology, encompassing food production as well as assisted reproductive technology (ART), currently emerges as a most important apparatus (dispositif) of governing populations. It should be understood as a means of “biopower” because it not only contributes to reproducing life but also helps to improve and preserve it. Highly depending on refrigeration, modern biopower invents a new type of life, which is technologically self-sustained.

Therefore, sustainability is not only a question of “protecting the environment” but also of developing and maintaining an environment that allows us to dispose life: this is the cryogenic culture. In our paper, we trace the emergence and dissemination of what we call cryogenic life– meaning the ways of producing, distributing, maintaining and dispositioning organic matter via cooling, chilling and freezing. With the introduction of artificial coldness in the late 19th century and the expansion of the cold chain, these techniques have become a constitutive element of modern biopower.

Today, it seems that nearly every aspect of life is affected by cryogenic techniques: we cool our food, environments, drugs, organs, eggs, milk, semen, tissue, blood and much more. Our central argument is that these developments lead to the formation of a new form of life, which in many ways is the antipode of what Agamben calls bare life. In analysing the emergence of cryogenic culture from a biopower point of view, this study offers a new perspective on how populations are fostered and governed through regimes of freshness. While the history of chilled and frozen food slowly gains increasing attention in historical and cultural studies, the historical dynamics of the cryopolitical economy in the network society still need to be explored.

 

Keywords: biopower, biopolitics, cold chain, cryobiology, refrigeration.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Content

DOWNLOAD PDF
friedrich_gjcpi_2014_1-2

DOI

DOI: 10.12893/gjcpi.2014.1-2.3

About the author

Alexander Friedrich
friedrich@gugw.tu-darmstadt.de

Technische Universität Darmstadt

 

Stefan Höhne
stefan.hoehne@metropolitanstudies.de

Technische Universität Berlin

 

0
Recommend
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIN
Share
Tagged in

Search

CFP

CFP 2023, 1: ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS, MIGRATION, AND SOCIAL POLICY
CFP 2023, 1: ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS, MIGRATION, AND SOCIAL POLICY
Ottobre 5, 2022 by Glocalism in CALL FOR PAPERS
Share
CFP 2022, 3: NEW TECHNOLOGIES, MIGRATION AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
CFP 2022, 3: NEW TECHNOLOGIES, MIGRATION AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
Aprile 22, 2022 by Glocalism in CALL FOR PAPERS
Share
CONTACT US HERE
delimiter image
Published by

Milan, Italy

ISSN 2283-7949

Glocalism: Journal of Culture, Politics and Innovation

CC-BY_icon

Except where otherwise noted,

content on this site is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Privacy Policy

Follow us on Academia.edu
Follow us on Twitter

Glocalism Journal Follow

A peer-reviewed, open-access and cross-disciplinary journal published every four months by the association “Globus et Locus”

GlocalismJ
Retweet on Twitter Glocalism Journal Retweeted
un United Nations @un ·
6 Feb

200 million women & girls alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), which involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons.

It's a human rights violation.

More from @UNFPA on Monday's #EndFGM Day. http://unf.pa/fgm

Reply on Twitter 1622461080814632960 Retweet on Twitter 1622461080814632960 257 Like on Twitter 1622461080814632960 572 Twitter 1622461080814632960
glocalismj Glocalism Journal @glocalismj ·
3 Feb

CALL FOR PAPERS! GJ #2023,1: Environmental Crisis, Migration and Social Policy. Read more on our website 👉🏼 https://glocalismjournal.org/cfp-2023-1-environmental-crisis-migration-and-social-policy/

Reply on Twitter 1621474431183765505 Retweet on Twitter 1621474431183765505 Like on Twitter 1621474431183765505 2 Twitter 1621474431183765505
logo