Can myriad uses of statistics produce belief that genetics largely explain racial health disparities? Should ancestry models be used to assess whether “African Ancestry” may account for increased genetic risks in African-Americans? Do new studies using brain scans to detect individual perception of racial difference lead to understanding of racism itself as fundamentally a biological rather than a social phenomenon? Does information linking biological causation to race take on a particular life in the press? A distinguished panel of speakers will discuss how the scientific act of establishing a biological cause for traits and the communication of that scientific information to the public might (mis)shape society’s concept of race. Panelists will discuss how reasoning on race travels in society broadly, and will examine cultural forces that constrain scientific communication.

"Race, Biological Causation and Science Communication"

Friday, October 10, 2014
2:00-5:30 p.m.
Newkirk Alumni Center | 450 Alumni Court (corner of University Dr. and Mesa Rd.)

More information: http://newkirkcenter.uci.edu/2014/07/28/race-biological-causation-and-sc...

Co-sponsored by the Department of Logic & Philosophy of Science

For further information, please email newkirk@uci.edu.