THE SOCIAL LIFE

OF DNA

GUEST: Alondra Nelson, Dean of Social Science and professor of sociology and gender studies at Columbia University. Her earlier book was Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination. Her latest book is called The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome

BACKGROUND: It’s been more than 10 years since the Human Genome Project was completed – a major feat for the species as a whole. The biological achievement has had many consequences for how we understand the human body and our inherited diseases. It has also opened up questions about delving into our ancestry. One community for whom personal genealogical information has been extremely important are African Americans. Using DNA technology, companies have been able to help African Americans trace their ancestry back to pre-slavery eras in the African continent. This exercise has multiple emotional and social impacts. 

>via: https://vimeo.com/162881954