Genetics and Genomics

Catalog description

This course is called "Genetics and Genomics," but we are defining those terms broadly to potentially encompass historical studies of biomedicine, evolution, race theory, biological anthropology, reproduction, agriculture, animal breeding, psychiatry, social sciences, and so on. We are thinking about knowledges of embodiment and what they teach us about social and technical order--about systems, institutions, technologies, hierarchies, theories, practices, networks, and so on. The goal of the semester will be for each student to produce a first draft of a publishable research paper. Many of our readings are calibrated to complement the available archival collections at the American Philosophical Library, the University of Pennsylvania archives, the Academy of Natural History collections, the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Wagner Free Institute of Science, College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Hagley Museum and Library, and collections held in striking distance of Philadelphia, in New York, Princeton, Baltimore, and Washington DC. While APS will be a special of focus of attention, given the remarkable collections there, students should make a special effort to become familiar with the many other resources that are available in the region, some of which have not been the focus of significant historical attention.