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The Division of Social Sciences Spring 2023 Luncheon Seminar Series

Speaker: Whitney Hunt, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology

Date/Time: April 20th, 12-1pm

Location: 27 Persson Auditorium

Title: The Social Deconstruction of Whiteness: Genetic Ancestry Testing and White Identity Formation

Description: More recently, genetic ancestry testing (GAT) has exploded in popularity, as individuals seek to identify their ancestry and/or genetic health profile through genetic testing. Drawing on 25 interviews of white adults that took a GAT, I develop four themes explicating their discourse on the social construction of race in the context of their white identity and genetic profiles: a desire to be raced, because they are feeling raceless and express remorse while remaining removed from racial realities. Together, these characteristics formulate a process that I call a social deconstruction of whiteness. The social deconstruction of whiteness explores how white individuals experience their racial and ethnic identity in an era where the socially constructed category of “white” is losing salience as an identity and the history of white supremacy in the US is becoming more widely recognized. Proliferating white supremacy, GATs allow individuals to disassociate from a white identity while maintaining the social privileges associated with white skin. This study provides insight into how scientific institutions reproduce white supremacy and how individuals navigate their identities under the imprimatur of genetic science.

Lunch: Lunch provided w/ vegetarian options, while supplies last. We've removed the single use water bottles to help reduce the waste from these events. We'll provide a jug of water though, so feel free to bring your reusable cup to help us reduce waste.

 

 

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