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Events

Events organised as part of the Genetics Pedagogies Project:

Public lecture by Evelyn Fox Keller

Professor Emerita of History and Philosophy of Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"From Gene Action to Reactive Genomes"

Monday 30th June 2014, 5-6:30pm at Devonshire Hall, Cumberland Road, Leeds, LS6 2EQ

Evelyn Fox Keller is an influential figure in the history and philosophy of modern biology, whose works include A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock (1983), The Century of the Gene (2000) and The Mirage of a Space between Nature and Nurture(2010). In this address, she will argue that we are poised at a critical turning point in the history of genetics, where cutting edge research in genomics, epigenetics, and genomic plasticity obliges us to critically re-examine many of our most basic concepts about the gene and its operations. We are undergoing a radical transformation in our understanding of the genome – a shift from a conception of a static collection of active genes to that of a dynamic and reactive system.

This event was followed by a wine reception sponsored by the British Society for the History of Science.


Nurturing Genetics: Reflections on a Century of Scientific and Social Change

An international and interdisciplinary symposium

University of Leeds, 30 June-2 July 2014

To mark both the upcoming centenary of The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity (1915) by T. H. Morgan et al. and the completion of the Leeds-based Genetics Pedagogies Project, we hosted a three-day symposium on a century of change in and out of genetics, featuring talks from scholars across the disciplines. In keeping with the ambitions of the project, gene-environment interaction and its complexities were in the foreground throughout.

Monday 30th June

Prof. Gregory Radick (HPS, Leeds): Welcome/Introduction.
Prof. Evelyn Fox Keller (STS, MIT): "From Gene Action to Reactive Genomes".

View a video of this session here

Drinks Reception, sponsored by the British Society for the History of Science.

Tuesday 1st July

Session 1: Eugenics and its Legacies
Dr. Chris Renwick (History, York): "Alexander Carr Saunders, Julian Huxley and Gene-Environment Interaction in Interwar British Sociology". View a recording of this talk
Dr. James Tabery (Philosophy, Utah): “Gene-Environment Interaction in the 21st Century: Its Rise, Its Fall, Its Rise?" View a recording of this talk

Session 2:  Hybridizations: Genetics, Agriculture, Medicine
Dr. Helen Anne Curry (HPS, Cambridge): “Creation versus Conservation: Competing Strategies for the Management of Genetic Diversity in 20th-Century Agriculture”
Dr. Steve Sturdy (STIS, Edinburgh): “Making Genomic Medicine: New Knowledge, New Politics” View a recording of this talk

Session 3: Towards a Better Handling of Complexity in the Clinic
Prof. Gholson Lyon (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory): “Genetic Complexity and Neuropsychiatric Disorders” View a recording of this talk
Dr. Barbara Potrata (Leeds Institute of Health Sciences): “After the Diagnosis: The Impact of Genetic Diagnosis”

Session 4: Towards a Better Handling of Complexity in the Classroom
Dr. Niklas Gericke (Environment and Life Sciences, Karlstad): “Epistemological Foundations for Genetics Education: The Issue of Conceptual Variation and Multiple Models” View a recording of this talk
Dr. Annie Jamieson (HPS, Leeds): “Leave the Monk in the Garden: Results of the Genetics Pedagogies Project” View a recording of this talk

Gala Conference Dinner

Wednesday 2nd July

Roundtable/Discussion sessions


 

Genetics, Genomics and Changing Understandings of Nature/Nurture: An Interdisciplinary Workshop

This workshop took place on Tuesday 21 May 2013, in the Centre for Medical Humanities Seminar Room, University of Leeds and was generously co-hosted by the Leeds Centre for Medical Humanities

Programme:

13:30-13:40
Introduction to the Genetics Pedagogies Project and the workshop (Gregory Radick, Genetics Pedagogies Project)

13:40-15:10
Counterfactuals in the teaching of genetics (Annie Jamieson, Genetics Pedagogies Project)
Social/cultural aspects of genetic testing and diagnosis (Janice McLaughlin, University of Newcastle)
Nessa Carey (epigenetic lead for the External Research & Development Innovation Unit at Pfizer and author of The Epigenetics Revolution) on recent developments in genetics that undermine the idea of genetic determinism

15:40-16:40
Collective discussion of project plans and proposed materials

16:40-17:00
Feedback from discussion and concluding remarks from Stuart Murray, Leeds Centre for Medical Humanities

17:00-18:00 Drinks reception