David Haig (Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology)
First-Year Seminar 50D | 4 Credits (Spring 2025) | CANVAS SITE
Monday, 03:00 PM–05:00 PM
A human interest in ancestry and kinship is found in most cultures. This interest is not a construct of the modern age, but recent advances in genetics can now provide a wealth of previously unavailable information about our genetic descent. The seminar will discuss examples of what genetics can tell us about where we are from and address the kinds of questions genetics can answer and the kinds it cannot answer. What should we conclude when cultural tradition and genetics tell different stories? Are genetic answers relevant or irrelevant to competing cultural narratives of identity? Is the question Where are you from? an invitation to explore our common humanity amid diversity or is it a microaggression that constructs barriers between us?