Consumer Genetics: Shifting Perceptions of Race and Ethnicity

Join Carolina Severiche Mena and me for our presentation, Consumer Genetics: Shifting Perceptions of Race and Ethnicity, at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology. The presentation will be held on 3/24/21 at 4:00 PM ET.

Abstract

Given the rise of low-cost genetic testing, we are now able to truly see at an individual level the effects of policies such as colonialism. No longer are we reliant on malleable histories of the victors, but instead, we can see how the ethnic makeup of individuals is, in fact, a diverse mixture that frequently extends beyond the modern nationalities that families pass down as part of their oral heritage. As such, we ask, does direct-to-consumer genetic (DTCG) testing have the ability to reshape notions of race & ethnicity positively, and if so, are there any educational and ethical implications?

Presenters: Carolina Severiche Mena and Matt Artz