Excel: The pursuit of excellence
quinta, 15/09
|R. Pereira e Sousa 13, 1350-092 Lisboa, Portugal
Biotechnologies, enhancement and bodycapital in Portugal


Horário e local
15/09/2022, 16:00 – 15/10/2022, 20:00
R. Pereira e Sousa 13, 1350-092 Lisboa, Portugal
Sobre o evento
The technological capacity to transform biology, relying on advances in genetic engineering, pharmacology, cybernetics and nanotechnology, has spurred a variety of devices to manipulate human body that are commonly defined "enhancement technologies".
Prompted by economic analyses on the increase in cosmetic consumption of bio-technologies in Portugal during the global financial crisis, EXCEL tackles these technologies as bio-investment practices to promote personal competitiveness according to a logic of excellence.
Focusing on the Greater Lisbon area and noting the national and transnational circuits that affect this context, we aim to add to existing statistical and bio-ethical analyses qualitative ethnographic data to unfold the complexity of these practices. Our ambition is to bridge the micro-dynamics of specific forms of bio-investment, exploring practices of and aspirations for biomedical self-making, with the genesis of new markets and transnational circuits of medical tourism.