Managing HuGE Expectations

Rhetorical Strategies in Human Genome Epidemiology

Abstract

This paper examines the rhetorical processes by which spokespersons and practitioners of human genome epidemiology (HuGE) try to articulate and legitimate their methods and approaches, while solidifying their future in American public health as a discipline at the intersection of epidemiological and genomic discourses. Based on works within the ‘dynamics of expectations’ this examination seeks to expand on the temporal understanding of expectations by identifying the specific rhetorical strategies used to manage emerging techno-sciences. Understanding such specific strategies is necessary for analysts working around fields of science that are highly contested and lodged in a prospective discourse, such as the climate sciences, information technologies, and other areas of biotechnology.