Roots, Representation, and Resistance? Family History Media &amp; Culture through a Critical Lens

Self Cite

Abstract:The essay explores issues pertaining to genetics vs. culture in understandings of kinship, hybridity as a disruptor of essentialist conceptions of race, the fetishization of ethnicity and culture, racist misuses of genetic science, processes of racialization, and counter-hegemonic resistance. Thirtyand sixty-second television advertisements airing in the U.S. from the 23andMe and AncestryDNA genetic genealogy testing services are analyzed in this context. The investigation demonstrates that genetic ancestry testing providers are well aware that their enterprise is premised on belief in the superiority of biological kinship and that hybridity is mobilized primarily as a marketing opportunity with ethnic components signified in shorthand by fetishized objects. Moreover, the categories of race and ethnicity presented in the ads give cover to racist abusers of genetic science, as the ads are consistent with socially constructed racial classifications. While maintaining this consistency, the categories are subject to adjustment based on the expectations of consumers. Resistance is possible in the use of genetic ancestry by descendants of African slaves to make localized connections to Africa, something that conventional genealogy seldom provides.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Markers Meet Marketing: Ethnicity, Race, Hybridity, and Kinship in Genetic Genealogy Television Advertising

Scodari

2017

Self Cite

“…Both genealogy itself (and new technological and commercial developments in the field) and academic work on genealogy has multiplied since [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. My early work on genealogy [12] was framed by a concern with the extent to which critical approaches to conventional models of identity and belonging overlooked the complex and sometimes progressive possibilities of genealogy.…”

Section: The Trouble With Genealogymentioning

confidence: 99%

Genealogical Relatedness: Geographies of Shared Descent and Difference

Nash

2017

This paper explores genealogy through a focus on what I describe as the idea of genealogical relatedness. This is a model of human relations which emphasizes relationships between people defined through the reckoning of connections based on birth and parentage. I offer a geographical analytical framework for exploring both popular genealogy and ideas of genealogical relatedness, shared descent and difference. It is one that both attends to the variety of ways that collective identity is defined or explored through genealogy and is alert to the troubling nature of genealogical categorizations and differentiations especially those which are figured in terms of concepts that seem to be most progressive, including ideas hybridity, diversity, and universal humanity.Keywords: genealogy; kinship; difference; descent The Trouble with GenealogyIn a context in which the genealogy has come to be an enormously popular cultural practice both in terms of personal family history research and interest in the family histories of others on TV, and is increasingly the subject of scholarly interest, it might seem odd to suggest that it is a cause of any kind of "trouble." However, the trouble I suggest here is twofold. One is the challenge to adequately address the complex, contrasting and multiple dimensions of genealogy, as both a mode of understanding human relationships and social orderings and as a popular practice. This means attending to the historical and geographical contingencies with shape these understandings, orderings and practices and their implications and elucidating what can be generalized about genealogy in this broad sense. My reference to "trouble" here is about "going to the trouble" to develop an analytical framework that fosters careful attention to the complexities of genealogy and provides the conceptual tools to explore the broad and specific effects of genealogical imaginaries and practices on the ways in which individuals and groups understand themselves and their relationships with others.The second trouble with genealogy is more specific. It is the problem of the model of relatedness that is at the heart of genealogy. Genealogy can be usefully understood as both a description of a set of relationships, as in someone "having a genealogy," and a practice of researching and recording those relationships. The relationships that constitute genealogy are relationships between people defined through the reckoning of connections based on birth and parentage. The trouble I allude to here, and will address in what follows, is the way in which extended genealogical relationships and shared ancestry have defined and continue to affect categories of collective identity, and the implications of assuming a natural correlation between these genealogical relationships and social and cultural closeness and distance. This is particularly a concern about the continued power idea of the nation as a community of shared descent even if inflected by multicultural discourses of diversity. However, as I will argue in...

“…Others, however, did provide specific examples of instances where the data had a negative impact, such as when the data did not support the existing family story or identity. It is not uncommon for genealogy researchers or family members to be disappointed or conflicted when the data reveals family situations that were historically commonplace, such as slavery, but no longer acceptable in modern times [4,8]. Conflict was also noted with regard to how and with whom the genealogy data was collected, as well as who was included in it.…”

Section: Impact Upon Family Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are many intersections between family genealogy and family communication, making it an area of study full of rich and promising findings for scholars. The proliferation of services tied to ancestral data has grown in leaps and bounds over the past two decades, as has the public interest and participation in this hobby/interest area 1 [4]. Family communication research in this increasingly popular area is needed to better understand the impact upon family communication, family narrative, storytelling, and identity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Genealogy and Family Communication: Finding Common Ground

Smith

2017

The intersection between family genealogy and family communication is an area ripe for scholarly research within the field of communication studies, as well as the broader area of genealogy studies. The opportunity and desire to conduct family genealogical research continues to grow as the services and tools making such research become more affordable and user friendly. In reflecting upon the ways in which genealogy research and family communication interact with one another, this article seeks to make a case for ongoing and increased scholarship regarding the impact of genealogy data upon family communication patterns, family narrative, and family identity.