Teaching the History of Genetics and Race

With racial tensions running high on our campus in Spring 2017, a colleague and I decided to apply for funding to develop a course in the history of genetics that would engage students in critical conversations at the intersections of race and science. Harvey Mudd College is a small liberal arts college that educates scientists, mathematicians and engineers, and our mission statement promises that part of that education will enable future scientists to understand the impact of their work on society. With this goal as our starting point, we launched the course by asking questions about current debates in genetics and medicine: What does it mean when biologists point to significant genetic variation across human populations? Are they offering evidence for the same racial categories which have enabled horrific and continuing violence and discrimination? Are they providing a framework for more effective medical treatments? While the major focus of the class was historical, looking at the intertwined development of genetics and concepts of race over the 20th century, we asked students to see this historical inquiry as a way of making sense of these current debates in science. With my training in history and my colleague's training as a biologist, we tried wherever possible to delve into the technical details of arguments made by geneticists, doctors, and others. This paper describes the narrative arc of the course, as well as decisions about pedagogy and assessment, and reflects on the challenges of team teaching across disciplines.