Z Online Class: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.
By the start of 2019, more than 26 million consumers had added their DNA to four leading commercial ancestry databases, with that market doubling in 2021 for the fifth year in a row. What is going on? To what extent have we come to regard identity as a genetic condition – and what are the implications of this idea? Citing geneticist and science journalist Adam Rutherford: “I am unaware of any group of people on Earth that can be defined by their DNA in a scientifically satisfactory way.” In this class Michael will address the concepts of race, ethnicity, gender and, more broadly, the celebrated opposition of nature vs. nurture (spoiler alert: he thinks the “vs.” is the problematic part) and will invite participants to weigh in with their own perspectives and life experiences. Come join us for an opportunity to collectively share and explore ideas regarding this most fundamental of ideas.
Michael Fahy holds a Ph.D. degree in anthropology from the University of Michigan and currently teaches in the University’s School of Education. He is an anthropologist of the Middle East, where he lived and pursued research for several years. Since 2004 Michael has offered presentations on Middle Eastern history and culture to American military personnel across the United States and Europe.