Book Review: The Monster That Is History: History, Violence, and Fictional Writing in Twentieth-Century China

• Author: Shanhe Jiang
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567706290544
• Date: 01 September 2006
• Published date: 01 September 2006
• Subject Matter: Articles

trial. His insightful analysis of the relevant statutory provisions and case law lend considerable cre-

dence to his argument. He is to be praised for his ability to synthesize his analysis of the law with a

sociopolitical analysis that looks at the use of DNA evidence from the framework and discourse of

late modern sociology. This flow is relatively seamless.

The Genetic Imaginary provides a significant contribution to both the legal and the criminologi-

cal literature on the current state of criminal justice in Canada. The book is logically structured and

has much to offer those interested in both the legal and the social realm. It is an admirable integra-

tion of legal analysis, with political and sociological analysis of the past, present, and future of the

use of DNA in Canada’s criminal justice system. It should serve as a template for those seeking to

produce truly interdisciplinary criminological research. The book is written in a manner that makes

it accessible to readers ranging from senior undergraduates to those working in this field at a sophis-

ticated level.

We are living in a society where the use of DNA technology in the courtroom is rapidly evolv-

ing. In the short time since this book was published, several significant developments have arisen

that confirm the concerns expressed by Gerlach. There has been a significant expansion in the list of

offenses designated as “primary” offenses for the purposes of court-ordered DNA sampling of

convicted offenders. The primary offenses are those for which sampling will presumptively be

ordered by the courts in Canada. In the months after the book went to press, the Supreme Court of

Canada handed down a key decision that upheld the constitutional validity of the DNA warrant pro-

visions found in the Canadian Criminal Code:R. v. S.A.B, [2003] 2 S.C.R. 678. This case supports

Gerlach’s assertion that the courts will continue to promote the taking of samples in the vast major-

ity of cases coming before them. More recently, the Supreme Court of Canada noted that the dis-

cretion in a court to refuse to order the extraction of a DNA sample, from an offender convicted of

a primary designated offense, was validly exercised in the case of a youthful offender convicted of

a primary designated offense committed in an intrafamilial context: R. v. R.C., [2005] 3 S.C.R. 99.

As Gerlach would note, cases like this do not take away from the more general acceptance of DNA

technology in the criminal justice system. Indeed, minor deviations from the sweep of acceptance of

DNA technology may serve to minimize public concern over the technology, thereby serving a hege-

monic purpose.

In the end, Gerlach demonstrates how Canada’s criminal justice system and Canadian society

more generally have come to accept DNA technology wholeheartedly and with relatively little orga-

nized resistance. This societal acceptance of the power of genetic sciences is encapsulated in the

genetic imaginary.

David MacAlister

Simon Fraser University, Burnaby,

British Columbia, Canada

___________________________________

Wang, D. D.-W. (2004). The Monster That Is History: History,

Violence, and Fictional Writing in Twentieth-Century China.

Berkeley: University of California Press.

DOI: 10.1177/1057567706290544

This book describes in detail the variety of violence in China during the 20th century and examines

its ethical and technological consequences by studying fiction, poetry, and drama. Wang uses histo-

riographical and literary approaches in his description and examination. The book has eight chapters

126 International Criminal Justice Review