2008 Woodie Awards
Speaker discusses races and genetics
By Nicole Rupp
Issue date: 4/8/05 Section: News
A lecture entitled "The Fuzzy Things Called Races" held Wednesday revolved around recent studies denying that races are biogenetically distinct.
The lecture was given by Alondra Oubre, a medical anthropologist and author of "Instinct and Revelation."
The lecture was one of a series of lectures presented this year by the women's studies programs that have dealt with science and health.
Slippery Rock University received a grant this year from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's office of diversity and equal opportunity, which along with SRU's women's studies program, women's consortium and the president's commission on race and ethnicity made the event possible.
Oubre accepted the invitation to speak at SRU because she was interested in speaking to students where there is diversity and where students are able to deal with certain issues that are brought up in her speech.
"Hopefully by speaking to the students I can somehow impact them," Oubre said.
Jace Condravy, director of the women's studies program, hoped the lecture would give students a better understanding of how people invent differences to interfere with their ability to socialize.
Oubre said studies have proven that there are no biologically distinct races. She said there are no distinct differences between races and there really is only one species, the human race.
"If we look at the animal kingdom we see far more genetic differences between races or subspecies than we see among human groups called races," Oubre said.
A study was completed which showed there was an 85 percent difference between members in a specific group while there is only a 15 percent difference among members of different groups.
Scientist who disagree with this idea are doing research on the subject, Oubre said, but evidence does not add up when looked at upon a larger scale.
"Researchers in the new racial genetics are constantly looking for new biological criteria to try to show that there are differences in inborn capabilities of so-called races or ethnic populations by looking at traits like testosterone levels in men and genes linked to brain levels of seratonin and dopamine," Oubre said.
"These two brain chemicals are known to influence mood emotions and various social behaviors."
The lecture was given by Alondra Oubre, a medical anthropologist and author of "Instinct and Revelation."
The lecture was one of a series of lectures presented this year by the women's studies programs that have dealt with science and health.
Slippery Rock University received a grant this year from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's office of diversity and equal opportunity, which along with SRU's women's studies program, women's consortium and the president's commission on race and ethnicity made the event possible.
Oubre accepted the invitation to speak at SRU because she was interested in speaking to students where there is diversity and where students are able to deal with certain issues that are brought up in her speech.
"Hopefully by speaking to the students I can somehow impact them," Oubre said.
Jace Condravy, director of the women's studies program, hoped the lecture would give students a better understanding of how people invent differences to interfere with their ability to socialize.
Oubre said studies have proven that there are no biologically distinct races. She said there are no distinct differences between races and there really is only one species, the human race.
"If we look at the animal kingdom we see far more genetic differences between races or subspecies than we see among human groups called races," Oubre said.
A study was completed which showed there was an 85 percent difference between members in a specific group while there is only a 15 percent difference among members of different groups.
Scientist who disagree with this idea are doing research on the subject, Oubre said, but evidence does not add up when looked at upon a larger scale.
"Researchers in the new racial genetics are constantly looking for new biological criteria to try to show that there are differences in inborn capabilities of so-called races or ethnic populations by looking at traits like testosterone levels in men and genes linked to brain levels of seratonin and dopamine," Oubre said.
"These two brain chemicals are known to influence mood emotions and various social behaviors."
