{"id":45028,"date":"2016-01-10T17:12:13","date_gmt":"2016-01-10T17:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mixedracestudies.org\/?p=45028"},"modified":"2016-01-10T17:12:13","modified_gmt":"2016-01-10T17:12:13","slug":"the-social-life-of-dna-race-reparations-and-reconciliation-after-the-genome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/?p=45028","title":{"rendered":"The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Beacon Press<\/a>
\n2016-01-12
\n216pages
\n6 x 9 Inches
\nCloth ISBN: 978-080703301-2<\/p>\n

Alondra Nelson<\/strong><\/a>, Dean of Social Science; Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies
\nColumbia University, New York, New York<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The unexpected story of how genetic testing is affecting race in America<\/em><\/p>\n

We know DNA<\/a> is a master key that unlocks medical and forensic secrets, but its genealogical life is both revelatory and endlessly fascinating. Tracing genealogy<\/a> is now the second-most popular hobby amongst Americans, as well as the second-most visited online category. This billion-dollar industry has spawned popular television shows, websites, and Internet communities, and a booming heritage tourism circuit.<\/p>\n

The tsunami of interest in genetic ancestry tracing from the African American community has been especially overwhelming. In The Social Life of DNA<\/em>, Alondra Nelson takes us on an unprecedented journey into how the double helix<\/a> has wound its way into the heart of the most urgent contemporary social issues around race.<\/p>\n

For over a decade, Nelson has deeply studied this phenomenon. Artfully weaving together keenly observed interactions with root-seekers alongside illuminating historical details and revealing personal narrative, she shows that genetic genealogy is a new tool for addressing old and enduring issues. In The Social Life of DNA<\/em>, she explains how these cutting-edge DNA-based techniques are being used in myriad ways, including grappling with the unfinished business of slavery: to foster reconciliation, to establish ties with African ancestral homelands, to rethink and sometimes alter citizenship, and to make legal claims for slavery reparations specifically based on ancestry.<\/p>\n

Nelson incisively shows that DNA is a portal to the past that yields insight for the present and future, shining a light on social traumas and historical injustices that still resonate today. Science can be a crucial ally to activism to spur social change and transform twenty-first-century racial politics. But Nelson warns her readers to be discerning: for the social repair we seek can\u2019t be found in even the most sophisticated science. Engrossing and highly original, The Social Life of DNA<\/em> is a must-read for anyone interested in race, science, history and how our reckoning with the past may help us to chart a more just course for tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome Beacon Press 2016-01-12 216pages 6 x 9 Inches Cloth ISBN: 978-080703301-2 Alondra Nelson, Dean of Social Science; Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies Columbia University, New York, New York The unexpected story of how genetic testing is affecting race in America We know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,2039,459,8,17,6940,394],"tags":[2087,3688],"class_list":["post-45028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-health-medicine","category-history","category-media-archive","category-monographs","category-slavery","category-socialscience","tag-alondra-nelson","tag-beacon-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45028"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45029,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45028\/revisions\/45029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}