Forensic Science, Race, and Genomics Talk
Berkeley Sociology Professor Troy Duster discusses the combustible intersection of forensic science, genomics and race.
Troy Duster, Chancellor’s Professor of Sociology (UC Berkeley) and Director for Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge (New York University) will discuss the controversial intersection of genomics, race and forensic science. He has served as President of the American Sociological Association from the close of the 2004 ASA Annual Meeting and through the 2005 ASA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in August 2005.
From Green College calendar:
In the last decade, state and national DNA databases have expanded exponentially, and the US now has collected and stored more than six million samples. Both the federal government and several states are taking the DNA from those merely arrested for misdemeanors. While these arrest patterns have a decidedly racial cast, new evidence has surfaced that DNA matches are not nearly as certain as the public has been led to believe. While we can and should applaud the Innocence Project and other initiatives that exonerate the innocent using DNA technology, we should stay ever alert to the false precision of “cold hits” (presumed matches with a database) that have the potential of sending many more innocents to prison.
This event takes place on Wednesday April 8 at 12pm in the Multi-Purpose Room, Liu Centre, 6476 NW Marine Drive, UBC. It is hosted by Green College and open to the University community and general public without charge.
