Description
Do advances in genomic biology create a scientific rationale for long-discredited racial categories? Leading scholars in law, medicine, biology, sociology, history, anthropology, and psychology examine the impact of modern genetics on the concept of race. Contributors trace the interplay between genetics and race in forensic DNA databanks, the biology of intelligence, DNA ancestry markers, and racialized medicine. Each essay explores commonly held and unexamined assumptions and misperceptions about race in science and popular culture. This collection begins with the historical origins and current uses of the concept of "race" in science. It follows with an analysis of the role of race in DNA databanks and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Essays then consider the rise of recreational genetics in the form of for-profit testing of genetic ancestry and the introduction of racialized medicine, specifically through an FDA-approved heart drug called BiDil, marketed to African American men. Concluding sections discuss the contradictions between our scientific and cultural understandings of race and the continuing significance of race in educational and criminal justice policy.
"There is perhaps no issue that is of more interest and relevance to the social study of science and public health than race and genetics, and the editors are leaders in the field. Novel and forward thinking, this book will be a valuable addition to a literature that needs to be brought up to speed." -- David Rosner, Columbia University and Mailman School of Public Health
About the Author
Sheldon Krimsky is professor of urban and environmental policy and planning and adjunct professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University. He is the author of nine books, including Science in the Private Interest: Has the Lure of Profit Corrupted Biomedical Research? and is coauthor with Tania Simoncelli of the recent Columbia University Press title Genetic Justice: DNA Databanks, Criminal Justice, and Civil Liberties. Kathleen Sloan has run nonprofit organizations for more than twenty years and has directed communications and public relations functions for multinational corporations and nonprofits. She organized a major national conference on the impact of forensic DNA databanks on racial disparities in the criminal justice system for the Council for Responsible Genetics, where she formerly directed programs on both race and genetics and women and biotechnology.
Reviews
There is perhaps no issue that is of more interest and relevance to the social study of science and public health than race and genetics, and Sheldon Krimsky and Kathleen Sloan are leaders in the field. Novel and forward thinking, this book will be a valuable addition to a literature that needs to be brought up to speed. -- David Rosner, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University A signal contribution. This volume wonderfully reflects the mission and track record of the Council for Responsible Genetics in clarifying the content and social significance of complex scientific issues and demystifying the ideological penumbras that surround them. I can hardly wait for this book to begin circulation. It should be read and taught as widely as possible. -- Adolph Reed Jr., University of Pennsylvania Essential reading for researchers, students, and policymakers seeking to challenge the new racial genetics. -- Dorothy Roberts, author of Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century Health and science collections alike will find this college-level discussion offers important connections between science and cultural awareness of race, and makes for key reading for students and researchers alike. Midwest Book Review An important strength of this timely,engaging, and readable book-and what distinguishes it from some others-is the claritywith which it demonstrates how genomics findings in one discipline... are applied to others... PsycCRITIQUES
Book Information
ISBN 9780231156974
Author Sheldon Krimsky
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
"There is perhaps no issue that is of more interest and relevance to the social study of science and public health than race and genetics, and the editors are leaders in the field. Novel and forward thinking, this book will be a valuable addition to a literature that needs to be brought up to speed." -- David Rosner, Columbia University and Mailman School of Public Health
About the Author
Sheldon Krimsky is professor of urban and environmental policy and planning and adjunct professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University. He is the author of nine books, including Science in the Private Interest: Has the Lure of Profit Corrupted Biomedical Research? and is coauthor with Tania Simoncelli of the recent Columbia University Press title Genetic Justice: DNA Databanks, Criminal Justice, and Civil Liberties. Kathleen Sloan has run nonprofit organizations for more than twenty years and has directed communications and public relations functions for multinational corporations and nonprofits. She organized a major national conference on the impact of forensic DNA databanks on racial disparities in the criminal justice system for the Council for Responsible Genetics, where she formerly directed programs on both race and genetics and women and biotechnology.
Reviews
There is perhaps no issue that is of more interest and relevance to the social study of science and public health than race and genetics, and Sheldon Krimsky and Kathleen Sloan are leaders in the field. Novel and forward thinking, this book will be a valuable addition to a literature that needs to be brought up to speed. -- David Rosner, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University A signal contribution. This volume wonderfully reflects the mission and track record of the Council for Responsible Genetics in clarifying the content and social significance of complex scientific issues and demystifying the ideological penumbras that surround them. I can hardly wait for this book to begin circulation. It should be read and taught as widely as possible. -- Adolph Reed Jr., University of Pennsylvania Essential reading for researchers, students, and policymakers seeking to challenge the new racial genetics. -- Dorothy Roberts, author of Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century Health and science collections alike will find this college-level discussion offers important connections between science and cultural awareness of race, and makes for key reading for students and researchers alike. Midwest Book Review An important strength of this timely,engaging, and readable book-and what distinguishes it from some others-is the claritywith which it demonstrates how genomics findings in one discipline... are applied to others... PsycCRITIQUES
Book Information
ISBN 9780231156974
Author Sheldon Krimsky
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
