Online Contemporary Issues Seminar: The Gene

Online Contemporary Issues Seminar Series

The Gene – An Intimate History
by Siddhartha Mukherjee (2017)

Sunday, February 18, 2024

This revived online series will inquire into contemporary issues of science, politics, culture, and economics, meeting once per month and covering 30-50 pages of a text per session. We kick off the series with a look into the history and current questions of genetics. The Gene: An Intimate History was written by Siddhartha Mukherjee, an Indian-born American physician and oncologist, published in 2017. The book chronicles the history of the gene and genetic research, all the way from Aristotle to Crick, Watson and Franklin and then the 21st century scientists who mapped the human genome. The book discusses the power of genetics in determining people’s well-being and traits. It delves into the personal genetic history of Siddhartha Mukherjee’s family, including mental illness. However, it is also a cautionary message toward not letting genetic predispositions define a person or their fate, a mentality that the author says led to the rise of eugenics in history. This series will span over ten monthly sessions on this book, and then turn to other contemporary subjects.

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February 18 Reading:

The Gene – An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A Certain Mendel, Eugenics, Three Generations of Imbeciles Is Enough, Part Two – Abhed,
(pages 56-100)

Scribner; Reprint edition (May 2017)
ISBN 978-1476733524

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Schedule:

12:00-2:00PM PST

Tutor:

Andy Gilman

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Location:

Online. Register to receive the link.