Recent social and political psychological research indicates that increased access to ancestry testing has strengthened the notion of genetic essentialism among some groups, or the idea that our biology ties us to particular ethnic identities. This can boost a sense of cultural pride and prosocial behaviors among communities that are perceived to be similar. In the worst-case scenarios, however, this phenomenon can contribute to deeper social woes like misinformation, anti-science agendas, and even social hatred among those who believe in racial superiority. Using research from both the social sciences and the genetics literature as support, Ancestry Reimagined establishes realistic expectations about what we can learn from our DNA as a foundation for examining the psychological impact of ancestry testing, including the differences between how this information is perceived versus its reality. With this book, Dr. Kampourakis flexes his muscles as an esteemed interdisciplinary science educator and author to challenge these traditional social constructs, using the current genetic testing science as a myth busting tool. Kampourakis argues that DNA ancestry testing cannot reveal a person's true ethnic identity because ethnic groups are socially and culturally constructed. In 10 accessible chapters, he explains the assumptions underlying the scientific study of ancestry, and the resulting paradoxes that are often overlooked. What the study of human DNA mostly shows is that human DNA variation is continuous, and it is not possible to clearly delimit ethnic groups based on DNA data. As a result, we all are members of a huge, extended family, and not of genetically distinct ethnic groups. What ancestry tests can provide are probabilistic estimations of similarities between the test-takers and particular reference populations. This does not devalue the results of these tests, however, because they can indeed provide some valuable information to people who may not know much about their ancestors. In fact, what the tests are very good at doing is finding close relatives, and this is perhaps why the whole enterprise should be rebranded as family, not ancestry, testing. Ultimately, this book reveals that genetic essentialism, biological ethnic identities, racial superiority, and similar social constructs are scientifically unsupported.

In recent years medicalization, the process of making something medical, has gained considerable ground and a position in everyday discourse. In this multidisciplinary collection of original essays, the authors expertly consider how issues around medicalization have developed, ways in which it is changing, and the potential shapes it will take in the future. They develop a unique argument that medicalization, biomedicalization, pharmaceuticalization and geneticization are related and co-evolving processes, present throughout the globe. This is an ideal addition to anthropology, sociology and STS courses about medicine and health.

The traditional method of composing the life history as a flowing narrative is not only morally dishonest but also intellectually inadequate because it conveys the false impression of a chronologically timeless and uninterrupted soliloquy. They are highly processed, constructed, and reified. Questions have been removed, entire sections have been reordered, and redundancies have been deleted. After the multiple stages involved in transforming a narrative life into an inscribed text, the final product bears little resemblance to the original transcription of the interview. By focusing only on the final product, life histories ignore the other two components in the communicative process. Oral History Reimagined: Emerging Research and Opportunities demonstrates the potential of the life history to serve as a new way of writing vulnerably about the “other” by refusing to hide the authors by sharing equal billing in a dialogic encounter with their informants in order to produce an ethnographic narrative that is multivocal, conversational, and co-constructed. The book examines the idea that a reflexive ethnography in the form of a reciprocal exchange between researchers and informants constitutes the logical extension of reflexivity in anthropological research. The book’s ultimate goal is a balance that dissolves the distinction between the ethnographer as theorizing being and the informant as passive data, that reduces the gap between subject and object, and that presents both ethnographer and informant as having active voices. Featuring topics on life histories, reflexive ethnography, and narrative structure of autoethnography, it is ideally designed for anthropologists, ethnographers, historians, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students.

This book illustrates that the stereotypical representations of Gregor Mendel and his work misrepresent his findings and their historical context. The author sets the historical record straight and provides scientists with a reference guide to the respective scholarship in the early history of genetics. The overarching argument is twofold: on the one hand, that we had better avoid naïve hero-worshipping and understand each historical figure, Mendel in particular, by placing them in the actual sociocultural context in which they lived and worked; on the other hand, that we had better refrain from teaching in schools the naive Mendelian genetics that provided the presumed “scientific” basis for eugenics. Key Features Corrects the distorting stereotypical representations of Mendelian genetics and provides an authentic picture of how science is done, focusing on Gregor Mendel and his actual contributions to science Explains how the oversimplifications of Mendelian genetics were exploited by ideologues to provide the presumed “scientific” basis for eugenics Proposes a shift in school education from teaching how the science of genetics is done using model systems to teaching the complexities of development through which heredity is materialized

In recent decades the concept of kinship has been challenged and reinvigorated by the so-called “repatriation of anthropology” and by the influence of feminist studies, queer studies, adoption studies, and science and technology studies. These interdisciplinary approaches have been further developed by increases in infertility, reproductive travel, and the emergence of critical movements among transnational adoptees, all of which have served to question how kinship is now practiced. Critical Kinship Studies brings together theoretical and disciplinary perspectives and analytically sensitive perspectives aiming to explore the manifold versions of kinship and the ways in which kinship norms are enforced or challenged. The Rowman and Littlefield International – Intersections series presents an overview of the latest research and emerging trends in some of the most dynamic areas of research in the Humanities and Social Sciences today. Critical Kinship Studies should be of particular interest to students and scholars in Anthropology, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Medical Humanities, Politics, Gender and Queer Studies and Globalization.

Today’s educators are aware of the need for social emotional learning in their classroom and can share the tenets of a culturally responsive pedagogy. However, what they lack is the practical strategies for implementation of these pivotal classroom practices. Pursuing Practical Change: Lesson Designs That Promote Culturally Responsive Teaching is an answer to this need! This book goes beyond just providing theory and data, but delves into the actual practices needed to be successful in today’s classroom. Within the chapters of this book, both novice and veteran teachers will find support through the lesson plans of practitioners, their reflections, and various strategies for classroom instruction.

An extraordinary exploration of the ancestry of Britain through seven burial sites. By using new advances in genetics and taking us through important archaeological discoveries, Professor Alice Roberts helps us better understand life today. ‘This is a terrific, timely and transporting book - taking us heart, body and mind beyond history, to the fascinating truth of the prehistoric past and the present’ Bettany Hughes We often think of Britain springing from nowhere with the arrival of the Romans. But in Ancestors, pre-eminent archaeologist, broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what we can learn about the very earliest Britons, from burial sites and by using new technology to analyse ancient DNA. Told through seven fascinating burial sites, this groundbreaking prehistory of Britain teaches us more about ourselves and our history: how people came and went and how we came to be on this island. It explores forgotten journeys and memories of migrations long ago, written into genes and preserved in the ground for thousands of years. This is a book about belonging: about walking in ancient places, in the footsteps of the ancestors. It explores our interconnected global ancestry, and the human experience that binds us all together. It’s about reaching back in time, to find ourselves, and our place in the world. PRE-ORDER CRYPT, THE FINAL BOOK IN ALICE ROBERTS' BRILLIANT TRILOGY – OUT FEBRUARY 2024.