The Study of Racialism

kpauljohnson · Posted: Fri 02 Nov 2007 14:28 Post subject: The Genetic Strand by Edward Ball

Just arrived this week at my library is this new book by the author who won a National Book Award for his Slaves in the Family. The subtitle is Exploring a Family History Through DNA. After a book that was about Charleston but not his own relatives, Ball returns to his family as a research topic thanks to an intriguing discovery. Ball bought an antique desk from a cousin, and found inside it a collection of hair samples labeled with the names of the Ball (etc.) ancestors from whom they were taken, as far back as 1824. This sets him off on a quest to learn all he can about his ancestry via DNA testing, which turns at points into a wild goose chase. His first mitochondrial test comes up with a Native American haplogroup, and he spends half the book pursuing this lead, only to find when retested that his mitochondrial haplogroup is really European. He becomes increasingly skeptical of the claims made for DNA testing, and at the end concludes:

“The art of reading deoxyribonucleic acid is a beginner’s game, and in my view it possesses beginner’s odds. It’s regrettable that molecular biology can see messages where none are written, as though it’s hungry for status and thinks it can deliver a truth quota. By investigating a small corner of the genetics empire, the study of ancestry, I found a crack in the foundation: DNA data can be shallow and strewn with mistakes. Genetics can’t support the desires people bring to it, yet the science of genes thinks it’s good public relations to portray itself as omniscient. In two years of reading, I never encountered a researched who acknowledged a mistake.

Gene handlers may not encourage phantom data, but forensic examiners and geneticists promote a culture of exaggeration. The overstatement is conspicuous in forensics, where the discourse pulls toward hyperbole, the billion-to-one probabilities, the nondiscussion of mishandled evidence. Corrupted results seep into the pipeline.”(p239)

So far I have only skimmed the book for facts useful to my own project, but will go back and read more carefully for background. This is another layman's exploration of family history through DNA, but with far more scientific explanation than found in Alther or Broyard (or than I will offer.)

kpauljohnson

http://www.rootstelevision.com/blogs/megans-rootsworld/2007/11/the_genetic_strand_slightly_di.html

On reflection, I agree that Ball's testing strategy seemed meandering and his conclusions more negative than was justified. But still recommend the book. Lisa Alther's Kinfolks is both more positive and more fun to read, but Ball's cautionary tale makes a good companion volume.