[A Controversy On Tape: Oral History, Witnesses, and Mythmaking in the American Debate About Genetic Engineering, 1975-1980].

Abstract

In the 1970s, historians discovered oral history as a new approach to the history of modern science. One example of this trend is the Recombinant DNA History Collection, which was created by Charles Weiner (1932-2012) at MIT in 1975. Following the approach of "history in the making", the collection aimed to document events that were considered turning points in the history of science. The collection included oral history interviews, audio and video recordings, press clippings, and further material around recombinant DNA (rDNA). In addition to the 1975 Asilomar Conference, the collection focused on the controversy about rDNA research in Cambridge (MA) in 1976/77. When Mayor Alfred Vellucci heard from Harvard's plan to build a laboratory for rDNA experiments on a P3 containment level, he convened two public hearings at the City Council in the summer of 1976. After a critical assessment of potential hazards of rDNA research by a citizen board, Cambridge passed the first local ordinance for the regulation rDNA research in the United States. In the following, I argue that the Recombinant DNA History Collection challenged the myth of neutral, objective, and disinterested science. Yet at the same time, it created new myths.