All Marked-Up in the Genetic Era: Race and Ethnicity as “Floating Signifiers” in Genetic and Genomic Research

Best, Latrica E.; Byrd, W. Carson

doi:10.1108/s1057-629020150000016011

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Content analyses of published literature in the relevant fields reveals nothing but confusion in how scientists write about race. In major genetics journals, race is best characterized as a "floating signifier" as researchers struggle to deal with the fluidity of the concept (Best and Byrd 2015; Chow-White and Green 2013). Scholars have found similar results in social scientific papers dealing with genetics (Byrd and Best 2015;Shostek and Beckfield 2015), pharmacology (Zhang and Finkelstein 2019) and forensic science (Maier 2021).…”

Section: The Blumenbachian Division and Geneticists' Race Talkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In major genetics journals, race is best characterized as a "floating signifier" as researchers struggle to deal with the fluidity of the concept (Best and Byrd 2015; Chow-White and Green 2013). Scholars have found similar results in social scientific papers dealing with genetics (Byrd and Best 2015;Shostek and Beckfield 2015), pharmacology (Zhang and Finkelstein 2019) and forensic science (Maier 2021). In medical genetics, content analyses of thousands of articles reveal no consistent use of "race" (Bliss 2011(Bliss , 2012Bokor-Billmann, Langan, and Billmann 2020;Comstock, Castillo, and Lindsay 2004;Ioannidis, Powe, and Yancy 2021;Lee 2009;Liu et al 2020).…”

Section: The Blumenbachian Division and Geneticists' Race Talkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Perils of Polysemy: Racial Realism in the Real World

Jackson

2022

Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology

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This paper critiques the biological race realism of Quayshawn Spencer. Spencer's recent embrace of “radical race pluralism” (RRP) is welcome but incomplete, because it needs methods that distinguish different communicative contexts for how American English speakers use “race” and related terms. I offer a pragmatic approach to identifying such contexts that combines pragmatic argumentation theory, rhetorical polysemy, and a pragmatic approach to definition. One consequence of embracing RRP is that Spencer's theory of “OMB race talk” is unsupportable because it collapses three distinct communicative contexts: genomic research, legal and regulatory governance, and ordinary talk. By so doing, OMB race talk blocks attempts to fight racism and violates ethical standards that should allow people the agency to define their own identities.

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Section: The Blumenbachian Division and Geneticists' Race Talkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Blumenbachian Division and Geneticists' Race Talkmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Perils of Polysemy: Racial Realism in the Real World

Jackson

2022

Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology

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“…The conceptualization of race in biomedical research is an imprecise and flexible process. Following the HGP, there was a dramatic rise of genetic studies with an emphasis on race/ethnicity (Best & Byrd 2015) along with a similar increase in the conceptualization of race as a biological fact rather than as a social construction in scientific articles (Chow-White & Green 2013). Chow-White & Green's (2013) analysis of racial discourses in scientific journals showed that constructionist understandings of race often appeared in scientific publications on race and genetics in 2001, but this trend quickly reversed in 2003 as the use of biological notions of race increased dramatically.…”

Section: Genomics and The Meaning Of Racementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chow-White & Green's (2013) analysis of racial discourses in scientific journals showed that constructionist understandings of race often appeared in scientific publications on race and genetics in 2001, but this trend quickly reversed in 2003 as the use of biological notions of race increased dramatically. Other scholars pointed out that terms like "race" and "ethnicity" have been used interchangeably and defined inconsistently in biomedical research both before the completion of the HGP (Lee 2009) and well into the postgenomic era (Best & Byrd 2015). However, the racialization of genetics is not limited to the rise of racial taxonomies or inconsistencies in race terminology in publications.…”

Section: Genomics and The Meaning Of Racementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sociologists have also linked race to the digital divide that creates and maintains social disparities in the ownership and use of, and proficiency in, technologies (Nelson et al 2001). More recent research revealing the racialized impacts of the Internet (Daniels 2013, Nakamura & Chow-White 2011 and robotics (Benjamin 2019, Sparrow 2020 indicates that algorithmic models risk a different form of bias stemming from the social inputs that produce harmful outputs for those included in digitized systems.…”

Section: Future Directions: Technologies Of Racementioning

confidence: 99%

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Why Sociology Matters to Race and Biosocial Science

Roberts

Rollins

2020

Annu. Rev. Sociol.

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Recent developments in genetics and neuroscience have led to increasing interest in biosocial approaches to social life. While today's biosocial paradigms seek to examine more fully the inextricable relationships between the biological and the social, they have also renewed concerns about the scientific study of race. Our review describes the innovative ways sociologists have designed biosocial models to capture embodied impacts of racism, but also analyzes the potential for these models normatively to reinforce existing racial inequities. First, we examine how concepts and measurements of difference in the postgenomic era have affected scientific knowledges and social practices of racial identity. Next, we assess sociological investigations of racial inequality in the biosocial era, including the implications of the biological disciplines’ move to embrace the social. We conclude with a discussion of the growing interest in social algorithms and their potential to embed past racial injustices in their predictions of the future.

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Between (Racial) Groups and a Hard Place: An Exploration of Social Science Approaches to Race and Genetics, 2000–2014

Byrd

Best

2016

Biodemography and Social Biology

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As the social sciences expand their involvement in genetic and genomic research, more information is needed to understand how theoretical concepts are applied to genetic data found in social surveys. Given the layers of complexity of studying race in relation to genetics and genomics, it is important to identify the varying approaches used to discuss and operationalize race and identity by social scientists. The present study explores how social scientists have used race, ethnicity, and ancestry in studies published in four social science journals from 2000 to 2014. We identify not only how race, ethnicity, and ancestry are classified and conceptualized in this growing area of research, but also how these concepts are incorporated into the methodology and presentation of results, all of which structure the discussion of race, identity, and inequality. This research indicates the slippage between concepts, classifications, and their use by social scientists in their genetics-related research. The current study can assist social scientists with clarifying their use and interpretations of race and ethnicity with the incorporation of genetic data, while limiting possible misinterpretations of the complexities of the connection between genetics and the social world.

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All Marked-Up in the Genetic Era: Race and Ethnicity as “Floating Signifiers” in Genetic and Genomic Research

Cited by 4 publications

References 44 publications

The Perils of Polysemy: Racial Realism in the Real World

The Perils of Polysemy: Racial Realism in the Real World

Why Sociology Matters to Race and Biosocial Science

Between (Racial) Groups and a Hard Place: An Exploration of Social Science Approaches to Race and Genetics, 2000–2014

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