Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

The nucleic acid DNA, which contains an organism’s genetic information, consists of a four-letter alphabet that has until recently been characterized as a read-only text. The development of a quick, inexpensive DNA targeting and manipulation technique called CRISPR, pronounced “crisper,” has changed DNA from a read-only to a fully rhetorical text—-one that can be not only read but created, interpreted, copied, altered, and stored as well. DNA text has structural components that are similar to those of traditional text, and now, with CRISPR, it also has purposes, audiences, and stakeholders. As such, DNA can no longer be considered a code, and given the enormous potential of DNA text for both good and ill, rhetoricians must participate in discussions of the complex policy and ethics issues this new form of text brings about. Finally, rhetoricians and scientists must also consider educational and literacy implications of characterizing DNA as a text.