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Reconstructing Sociogenomics Research

Dismantling Biological Race and Genetic Essentialism Narratives

Bibliographic Data

ID2316782
AuthorsPamela Herd (0000-0002-0137-5846, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA, corresponding author), Melinda C Mills (0000-0003-1704-0001, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), Jennifer B Dowd (0000-0003-2006-5656, University of Oxford)
Year2021
Volume62
Issue3
Pages419-435
Publication date2021-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Health and Social Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1465 • E-ISSN: 2150-6000
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00221465211018682
PMID34100668
OpenAlexW3168814785
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited87

We detail the implications of sociogenomics for social determinants research. We focus on education and race because of how early twentieth-century scientific eugenic thinking facilitated a range of racist and eugenic policies, most of which helped justify and pattern racial and educational morbidity and mortality disparities that remain today, and are central to sociological research. Consequently, we detail the implications of sociogenomics research by unpacking key controversies and opportunities in sociogenomics as they pertain to the understanding of racial and educational inequalities. We clarify why race is not a valid biological or genetic construct, the ways that environments powerfully shape genetic influence, and risks linked to this field of research. We argue that sociologists can usefully engage in genetics research, a domain dominated by psychologists and behaviorists who, given their focus on individuals, have mostly not examined the role of history and social structure in shaping genetic influence

Biology · Construct (python library) · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Essentialism · Eugenics · Field (mathematics) · Narrative · Race (biology) · Racism · Sociology · BRCA gene mutations in cancer · Gender Studies · Genetic Associations and Epidemiology · Genetics · Race, Genetics, and Society

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Unique citing works11
Citations per year2,2
Citation span2021 - 2026 (6)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 10
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