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Identity in the age of ancestral DNA
Who do you think you are?
No matter where we have lived on this planet, we’ve formed our identities with whatever information has been available to us. Today, with relatively easy access to our DNA ancestry, we have more data about ourselves and family history than previous generations could have imagined.
In the 12 fascinating lessons of Identity in the Age of Ancestral DNA, Anita Foeman, PhD, professor of communication and media, and founder and primary investigator of the DNA Discussion Project at West Chester University, takes us behind the scenes to examine what really happens when individuals receive their personal DNA ancestry results. By learning about their individual and family reactions, we learn more about our own identity narratives as well.
Your results will tell you where your ancestors likely lived, and you will probably receive a chart indicating what percentage of your ancestors came from which parts of the world. But no matter what else shows up in your DNA ancestry chart, your personal lineage goes back to Africa. Scientists have identified the most recent common matrilineal ancestor and patrilineal ancestor of every person alive today. As a consequence of this common heritage, the DNA of every human being alive today - regardless of height, skin color, head shape, or any other physical characteristic - is 99.9 percent identical.
As you’ll discover in Identity in the Age of Ancestral DNA, genetics brings us all to conversations that would have been impossible just a few decades ago. As we investigate our own DNA ancestry, there’s hope we’ll become more willing to accept a fluid identity in ourselves and others. We do have the ability to reclaim the totality of what we are and live well with any paradox - working toward a more wide-reaching American narrative.
PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
No matter where we have lived on this planet, we’ve formed our identities with whatever information has been available to us. Today, with relatively easy access to our DNA ancestry, we have more data about ourselves and family history than previous generations could have imagined.
In the 12 fascinating lessons of Identity in the Age of Ancestral DNA, Anita Foeman, PhD, professor of communication and media, and founder and primary investigator of the DNA Discussion Project at West Chester University, takes us behind the scenes to examine what really happens when individuals receive their personal DNA ancestry results. By learning about their individual and family reactions, we learn more about our own identity narratives as well.
Your results will tell you where your ancestors likely lived, and you will probably receive a chart indicating what percentage of your ancestors came from which parts of the world. But no matter what else shows up in your DNA ancestry chart, your personal lineage goes back to Africa. Scientists have identified the most recent common matrilineal ancestor and patrilineal ancestor of every person alive today. As a consequence of this common heritage, the DNA of every human being alive today - regardless of height, skin color, head shape, or any other physical characteristic - is 99.9 percent identical.
As you’ll discover in Identity in the Age of Ancestral DNA, genetics brings us all to conversations that would have been impossible just a few decades ago. As we investigate our own DNA ancestry, there’s hope we’ll become more willing to accept a fluid identity in ourselves and others. We do have the ability to reclaim the totality of what we are and live well with any paradox - working toward a more wide-reaching American narrative.
PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
100 pages, Audiobook
Published January 1, 2021
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 7, 2021
These are twelve lectures that cover the emotional, psychological, sociological, and even political issues that can arise for individuals who have just learned the findings, sometimes unexpected, from an ancestral DNA test. After an introductory overview provided by Lecture 1, Lecture 2 provides the only discussion of the science and meaning of such terms as haplogroups, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and Y-DNA, autosomal DNA, ancestry informative markers (AIMs), and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The rest of the lectures are mostly free of acronyms.
The following quotation is from the final lecture, and I think it provides a good summary of the ground covered in these lectures. I've decided to let it serve as the heart of my review.
"Maria" mentioned in the above text refers to an interview with a woman in Lecture 8 who learned at age 15 that her parents had used artificial insemination from an anonymous donor for her conception. Additional research revealed that she had numerous half siblings. Going from being an only child to being one of a whole tribe of half siblings was an unusual and unexpected surprise.
Rachel Dolezal is a white person who passed as black for many years until her involvement in political matters outed her. Lecture 11 contains a lengthy interview with her about racial identity.
"Brooklyn" refers to a person named Brooklyn McTavish. He's a photographer who takes pictures of individuals dressed as their varied distant ancestors.
The following quotation is from the final lecture, and I think it provides a good summary of the ground covered in these lectures. I've decided to let it serve as the heart of my review.
In our foray into identity and ancestry DNA we returned back to our innocuous looking ancestry box, but with it we have considered the growth in popularity of these kits. We looked at how ancestral informative markers help us understand these tests, how these markers relate to much more than geographic regions. They’re relevant in areas from law enforcement to health. We talked about the sensitivity of this information, important privacy issues. We talked about how narratives of science and society shape medical research and treatment, we dug into the story of Maria with her gaggle of siblings and how new information links us and sometimes in unexpected ways. We speculated on better babies and the need to make ourselves better. We talked about personalized medicine with a goal of creating a healthy happy population for the widest variety of people. We looked at the limits of these tests to defined racial identity with Rachel Dolezal, and imagined with Brooklyn how these tests can take us out of our day to day self, and help us see more in one another’s clothes and eyes.The following paragraphs provide some explanatory comments about some things mentioned in the above text.
"Maria" mentioned in the above text refers to an interview with a woman in Lecture 8 who learned at age 15 that her parents had used artificial insemination from an anonymous donor for her conception. Additional research revealed that she had numerous half siblings. Going from being an only child to being one of a whole tribe of half siblings was an unusual and unexpected surprise.
Rachel Dolezal is a white person who passed as black for many years until her involvement in political matters outed her. Lecture 11 contains a lengthy interview with her about racial identity.
"Brooklyn" refers to a person named Brooklyn McTavish. He's a photographer who takes pictures of individuals dressed as their varied distant ancestors.
April 23, 2022
In sore need of actual population genomics and even some paleogenomic content. Even the discussions of DTC ancestry testing should have been more conceptual and technical. A causal listener to these lectures will not receive an education in exactly how powerful these approaches are.
These lectures were mostly qualitative commentaries on how DTC ancestry testing influences social, cultural, and familial dynamics. The content was reasonably balanced on these issues though there were of course simplifications that likely obscure rather than clarifying certain issues.
For more detailed understanding of genetic ancestry, I'd recommend reading David Reich's Who We Are and How We Got Here.
These lectures were mostly qualitative commentaries on how DTC ancestry testing influences social, cultural, and familial dynamics. The content was reasonably balanced on these issues though there were of course simplifications that likely obscure rather than clarifying certain issues.
For more detailed understanding of genetic ancestry, I'd recommend reading David Reich's Who We Are and How We Got Here.
March 24, 2022
Very fascinating topic. I was certainly intrigued by the results of the ancestry DNA test I did a few years ago and find possibilities this technology holds highly interesting. Foeman's lecture series touches on a number subtopics, including both personal stories related to surprising ancestry DNA results and other fields where the science involved has been and might in the future be employed.
March 17, 2022
Heavier on sociology than on scientific information, this series talks far more about defining and discussing identity than providing information on genetics, testing, or deciphering results.
While I would have preferred more biology and science, most of the series was interesting enough to keep listening. Dr. Foeman is a confident speaker and good storyteller on the whole. I felt the first half of the series was much stronger than the second half, which tended to meander without much focus. Then she lost me completely in section 11 with the whole Rachel Dolezal redemption crusade I understand the intent to discuss the concept of "self-identifying," but perhaps Dr. Foeman's point would have been better made choosing someone with a dab of credibility. I've no interest in listening to someone who finds herself so frequently involved in sketchy legal situations such as welfare fraud, plagiarism, lying for financial gain or public sympathy, etc.
More informative parts of the series included discussion of the following:
- what information DNA tests can and, most importantly, cannot provide,
- how that information changes over time,
- mentally preparing self and others for the very real potential of information that is upsetting or surprising
- privacy statements by DNA testers and what can happen to your data without your consent.
- what is currently happening with research into "personalized medicine" based on DNA
ETA: Since reviewing the series, I have read the book The Seven Daughters of Eve, which the presenter recommended and referenced several times during her presentations. I am almost tempted to down rate this series based on that recommendation. While I realize the professor‘s specialty is communications and not science, it is still disappointing that an academic would recommend such an outdated and speculative resource.
While I would have preferred more biology and science, most of the series was interesting enough to keep listening. Dr. Foeman is a confident speaker and good storyteller on the whole. I felt the first half of the series was much stronger than the second half, which tended to meander without much focus. Then she lost me completely in section 11 with the whole Rachel Dolezal redemption crusade I understand the intent to discuss the concept of "self-identifying," but perhaps Dr. Foeman's point would have been better made choosing someone with a dab of credibility. I've no interest in listening to someone who finds herself so frequently involved in sketchy legal situations such as welfare fraud, plagiarism, lying for financial gain or public sympathy, etc.
More informative parts of the series included discussion of the following:
- what information DNA tests can and, most importantly, cannot provide,
- how that information changes over time,
- mentally preparing self and others for the very real potential of information that is upsetting or surprising
- privacy statements by DNA testers and what can happen to your data without your consent.
- what is currently happening with research into "personalized medicine" based on DNA
ETA: Since reviewing the series, I have read the book The Seven Daughters of Eve, which the presenter recommended and referenced several times during her presentations. I am almost tempted to down rate this series based on that recommendation. While I realize the professor‘s specialty is communications and not science, it is still disappointing that an academic would recommend such an outdated and speculative resource.
April 19, 2022
Professor Anita Foeman’s lecture transcripts contain thoughtful observations about DNA, ancestry and identity, moral and ethical considerations, but it’s very American-centric. The likeable Prof Foeman sometimes flirts with the outdated belief that race is a biological fact whereas DNA research has caused scientists to prove the opposite: that race is a socially and culturally constructed idea (it’s political) with no basis in biology. To be fair, the lectures do infer race is socially constructed for example when explaining Dorothy Roberts Fatal Invention, healthcare and personalised medicine, but I’m left wondering if there would have been value in overtly explaining and deconstructing this (and perhaps explaining the distinction between race and ethnicity) in one of the lectures.
July 31, 2022
This was such a good discussion on how identity is impacted by 'reality', aka science and fundamental features of the things that constitute what we are. I almost didn't get this audiobook because of some negative reviews, but I'm really glad I did. Professor Foeman was the perfect arbiter of such complex and controversial topics. She was able to address topics without infusing unnecessary subjective bias, yet she still included insightful personal experiences. She was able to interview polarising people with professionalism and objectivity. I feel like these issues are going to be really important as humanity moves forward. This was less about the science of DNA, and more about how we think about DNA, especially after we've already formed ideas about our identity. To the reviewers who were uncomfortable with professor Foeman's discussion about race, I don't think I've heard anyone else ever address these issues so tactfully and non-judgementally. Not sure what more you could want.
I might reflect a bit more on some of these topics later.....
I might reflect a bit more on some of these topics later.....
July 31, 2024
As an Attack Helicopter, with genetic disposition to fire hellfire missiles.
This one is a complete disappointment, I need to start reading description before I commit.
Key-points from this:
* Genetics can hurt ppl feelings, wtf
* Non-Binary DNA Tests, even more wtf
Its more about how you gonna feel when you get you'r test results.
This one is a complete disappointment, I need to start reading description before I commit.
Key-points from this:
* Genetics can hurt ppl feelings, wtf
* Non-Binary DNA Tests, even more wtf
Its more about how you gonna feel when you get you'r test results.
May 6, 2022
Not really educational and too focused on race rather than dna, culture, our what identity is in context or contrast.
November 5, 2025
A good overview course that covers most everything you’d expect from the title. I enjoyed the sections featuring insight from other professionals and prominent figures.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews