BIO 295-01 - Special Topic: Racing Through Genetics

4 credits (Spring)

Cross-listed as: AMS 295-01 and ANT 295-01. In this course we will explore the role that science has played in the construction of race and ways that society uses such racial classification. We will draw upon historic cases of the eugenics movement in the early 1900s and current applications of modern genetic technology such as genetic testing and the new field of pharmacogenetics, using genetic information to guide pharmaceutical applications. Students will consider genetic determinism in light of what is known about biology and historicize concepts based in science including the meanings they acquired when invoked to support judicial, political and social policies. Challenges and opportunities posed by applications stemming from contemporary genomics will be considered.

Prerequisite: BIO 150 and one 100-level AMS, ANT, SOC, or GWSS course.
Instructor: Gregg-Jolly, Gibel Mevorach