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SUMMARY:The African Genome at the Interdisciplinary Crossroads
DESCRIPTION:How to widen the scope of genomics’ methods across the humaniti
 es and social science?\n\nConference organized by the Centre for African St
 udies and the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Basel on b
 ehalf of the Swiss Society for African Studies with financial support from 
 the Swiss Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities. and the Freiwillige Ak
 ademische Gesellschaft Basel.\n\nConvenor: Henri Michel Yéré, Centre for Af
 rican Studies and Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel\n\nWhe
 n, where: 1−3 September 2025, University of Basel, Switzerland\n\nIn this c
 onference, we would like to begin to understand how issues of identity and 
 ethnicity play out in genomics research at an interdisciplinary level. Toge
 ther with this objective we want to consider the ways in which colonial his
 tory has had an impact on how the ‘African genome’ is defined and used. We 
 are particularly interested in the mutual influence of lay and scientific e
 pistemologies on the ways in which we think about ethnicity within Africa a
 nd in genomics.\n\nWe contend that genomics can no longer afford to ignore 
 the reality that it needs to regard itself not just as a natural science, b
 ut as a practice whose reach goes beyond the strict space of scientific pra
 ctice. We are interested to explore the possibility of bringing genomics as
  a scientific practice towards asking its own questions differently: at a p
 ractical and material level (e.g. concerning sampling strategies), at a pol
 itical level (e.g. with regard to health equities and questions of scientif
 ic sovereignty), but also at an epistemological level (concerning the very 
 classificatory practices and genealogies of knowledge on which contemporary
  genomics rest). Whereas divergences may at first glance appear insurmounta
 ble at an epistemological level, by virtue of the larger, traditional “divi
 de” between natural and social science and humanities scholarship, points o
 f convergence may come forward during exchanges between natural scientists 
 and social scientists/humanities scholars when it comes to the practical an
 d ethical dimensions of engaging with patients over sample donation. In rec
 ent years, there has been a move towards projects that seek to overcome thi
 s divide, including the collaborative platform The Asthma Files (https://th
 easthmafiles.org.) What is striking in these initiatives is that they do no
 t follow an additive or perspectivist approach but seek to be transdiscipli
 nary and thus transformative on a more fundamental level.Fourteen scholars 
 from Universities in Europe, Africa, North America, and Asia will present t
 heir insights from several disciplines and reflect at the intersection of t
 he natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities.Download: Conf
 erence programme (pdf)\n\n                 Abstracts and bios (pdf)Registra
 tion: Auditors are invited to register by 28 August 2025 by email to sekret
 ariat@sgas-ssea.ch.\n\nVenue: Kollegienhaus der Universität Basel, Peterspl
 atz 1, Room 119, 1st floor 
DTSTAMP:20250828T150154Z
DTSTART:20250901T070000Z
DTEND:20250903T150000Z
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