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Recent social and political psychological research indicates that increased access to ancestry testing has strengthened the notion of genetic essentialism among some groups, or the idea that our biology ties us to particular ethnic identities. This can boost a sense of cultural pride and prosocial behaviours among communities that are perceived to be similar. In the worst-case scenarios, however, this phenomenon can contribute to deeper social woes like misinformation, anti-science agendas, and even social hatred among those who believe in racial superiority. Using research from both the social sciences and the genetics literature as support, Ancestry Reimagined establishes realistic expectations about what we can learn from our DNA as a foundation for examining the psychological impact of ancestry testing, including the differences between how this information is perceived versus its reality. With this book, Dr. Kampourakis flexes his muscles as an esteemed interdisciplinary science educator and author to challenge these traditional social constructs, using the current genetic testing science as a myth-busting tool.
Kampourakis argues that DNA ancestry testing cannot reveal a person's true ethnic identity because ethnic groups are socially and culturally constructed. In 10 accessible chapters, he explains the assumptions underlying the scientific study of ancestry, and the resulting paradoxes that are often overlooked. What the study of human DNA mostly shows is that human DNA variation is continuous, and it is not possible to clearly delimit ethnic groups based on DNA data. As a result, we all are members of a huge, extended family, and not of genetically distinct ethnic groups. What ancestry tests can provide are probabilistic estimations of similarities between the test-takers and particular reference populations. This does not devalue the results of these tests, however, because they can indeed provide some valuable information to people who may not know much about their ancestors. In fact, what the tests are very good at doing is finding close relatives, and this is perhaps why the whole enterprise should be rebranded as family, not ancestry, testing. Ultimately, this book reveals that genetic essentialism, biological ethnic identities, racial superiority, and similar social constructs are scientifically unsupported.
Preface
Chapter 1. DNA ancestry testing: what it is and what people make of it
Chapter 2. Essentializing social groups: nations
Chapter 3. From race to ethnicity in ancestry testing
Chapter 4. Genealogical and genetic ancestry
Chapter 5. Using DNA ancestry evidence to retrace history
Chapter 6. We are all Africans, ultimately
Chapter 7. More related than distinct
Chapter 8. Social constructs vs. "natural order"
Chapter 9. Separating DNA from culture
Chapter 10. Finding meaning in our ancestry testing
Conclusion
Kostas Kampourakis is the author and editor of several books about evolution, genetics, philosophy, and the history of science. He teaches biology and science education courses at the University of Geneva. Previously he served as an adjunct Instructor at the Department of Mathematics and Science Education at Illinois Institute of Technology, and he taught biology and nature of science to secondary school and IB DP students at Geitonas School in Athens, Greece. He is the editor of the book series Understanding Life, published by Cambridge University Press and the author of Uncertainty: How It Makes Science Advance. In the past, he was the Editor-in-chief of the Springer journal Science & Education, the founding editor of the Springer book series Science: Philosophy, History and Education, and the founding co-editor of the Springer book series Contributions from Biology Education Research.
"A fascinating and personal journey into the complex relationship between ancestry, ethnicity and identity. Kampourakis' book provides food for thought for anyone curious about what genetic ancestry tests actually measure and what, if anything, we can learn from their results."
– Iain Mathieson, Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
"Ancestry Reimagined is an urgently needed book. It explains how modern misconceptions of genetic determinism are becoming mixed into notions of race essentialism to create confusions of identity that are being commercially monetised. While genomics has immense potential to elucidate human origins and history, this book is a splendidly clear corrective to some of its scientific, technological and societal misuses and misunderstandings."
– Philip Ball, science writer and author of How To Grow a Human
"I have more sympathy for DNA testing than does Kostas Kampourakis – if people seek slightly bizarre information about themselves, why not? Many might value such an exploration. Nonetheless, he convincingly shows the distortions, emotional tangles, politically dicey inferences, and plain silliness that test misuse can entail. Ancestry Reimagined is clear, elegant, engaged, and absorbing; no one will misunderstand genetic ancestry testing after reading it."
– Jennifer Hochschild, Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government, Harvard University, and author of Genomic Politics (OUP)
"Genetic essentialism is at the root of many of our societal problems. Kampourakis brilliantly dissects misconceptions concerning modern genetic ancestry testing, notions of socially defined race and ethnicity, and how it impacts individuals' understandings of themselves and their families. This is done in an engaging style. A must read."
– Joseph L. Graves Jr, Professor of Biological Sciences, North Carolina A&T State University and author of Racism, Not Race (with Alan Goodman)
"Who do you think you are? In today's world of identity politics, finding your roots has never seemed so important. You'd think your DNA would have answers to all your questions. That's science, right? But as Kostas Kampourakis shows in this timely book, your DNA is a very deceptive guide to discovering your ancestry."
– Dr Henry Gee, Senior Editor at Nature, and author of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, and The Accidental Species: Misunderstandings of Human Evolution
"Kostas Kampourakis has written a book that everyone who is either considering submitting a sample for DNA testing to a commercial ancestry company or who is trying to interpret the results of such a test should read. He explains in a clear and comprehensible manner basic genetics, the different tools used by genetic ancestry companies to evaluate ancestry, and exactly what these tests can and cannot do. In particular, he presents the reasons that the results of such tests are not and cannot be taken as proof of identity or ethnicity. Ancestry Reimagined goes beyond most books on DNA testing by discussing the psychological tendency toward essentializing the results of such tests, thus explaining why and how people distort these tests to various ends. Finally, it warns of the dangers of such essentializing, both in the past and the present."
– Patrick Geary, Emeritus Professor of History, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton New Jersey
"Ancestry Reimagined does a brilliant job demystifying the pseudo-genetic personal histories that are being aggressively marketed to the public today. Ancestry is never composed of simply facts of nature, but is invariably the result of a complex negotiation between facts of nature and culture. And as millions of consumers purchase a bit of science in the hopes of constructing genetic identities for themselves, Kostas Kampourakis expertly and elegantly shows where the grains of salt must be taken each step of the way."
– Jonathan Marks, Professor of Anthropology, UNC-Charlotte
"Ancestry Reimagined provides an in-depth analysis of the geneticization of identity and ancestry. It grapples with how ancestry companies view race and ethnicity as somehow essential elements, written into our DNA. It is a unique and timely exploration that brings science to the study of the highly political topic of identity and genetic essentialisms."
– Alan H. Goodman, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Hampshire College
"In Ancestry Reimagined, Kostas Kampourakis offers a lucid explanation of the science behind DNA ancestry testing while exposing the circular reasoning and unrealistic assumptions that underpin the claim that one can "discover" one's ancestry through DNA test results. The result is a compelling demonstration that ethnicity is culturally constructed rather than genetically determined."
– Jonathan M. Hall, Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor in the Humanities, University of Chicago, and author of Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity
"Ancestry Reimagined succeeds in dismantling myths around genetic ancestry and provides an accessible and engaging and integrative discussion of a wide-ranging literature. It would serve as an excellent primer text for undergraduate students, scholars who are adjacent to, but still outside of, genetics, or the general public trying to make sense of their consumer genetics results."
– Kevin A. Bird, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, USA
