ABSTRACT
In this book we have argued that genetic ancestry has no inherent social meaning, and that we must pay careful attention to how people think about the past and relatedness before we can understand how people experience genetic ancestry technology and information. We have also argued for a biocultural approach to the study of embodied difference, particularly race that leads to a more nuanced understanding of genetic ancestry as not only problematically interrelated to folk theories about race but also a form of racial experience. In turn, how we think about race (both as a sociocultural phenomenon and a subject of social scientific inquiry) is grounded in a broader historical and contemporary context of anthropological practice. We have argued that this context of anthropological inquiry, if rooted in the legacy of Anténor Firmin, should be inclusive of a science and social science that is fundamentally anti-racist. Such an anthropological approach can lead to the use of genetic technology as a tool of empowerment and anti-racism. The arguments put forth in this book also lead us to believe that an integrative anthropology is a well-suited home for scientific inquiry into biocultural dimensions of race and anti-racist anthropology. Cultural anthropologists, biological anthropologists, and broader audiences can only benefit from more nuanced perspectives that move beyond declarations like “race is not biologically real” or “race is a social construct.” Indeed, our research into genetic ancestry demonstrates that there is much room for growth in how anthropologists and other scholars continue to engage racial experience as research and as a prism for anti-racist struggles.
