Sarah Abel, Permanent Markers: Race, Ancestry, and the Body After the Genome
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Abstract
In this critical review of Permanent Markers: Race, Ancestry, and the Body After the Genome, I offer an intimate reading of author Sarah Abel’s analysis of the uses of ancestry tests in Brazil and the United States. I highlight the book’s methodological contribution (the comparative analysis of two very different national contexts) and emphasize the research findings in the context of a decade of work that has also addressed the social uses of DNA technologies and the discussions these uses raise around the racialization of identities and the anti-racist potential of genetic science. Finally, I note a minor criticism concerning the forensic application of genealogical evidence. This allows me to show other important avenues of inquiry that the book raises.
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