Kathryn Paige Harden: 'The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality'

Denison University’s Lisska Center, in partnership with Gramercy Books, presents Kathryn Paige Harden: “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality!”

Join behavior geneticist Harden via Zoom in conversation with Adam Davis, Director of the Lisska Center for Intellectual Engagement at Denison University, to learn about Harden’s book, “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality,” a provocative and timely case for how the science of genetics can help create a more just and equal society.

In recent years, scientists like Harden have shown that DNA makes us different, in our personalities and in our health—and in ways that matter for educational and economic success in our current society.

In The Genetic Lottery, Harden introduces readers to the latest genetic science, dismantling dangerous ideas about racial superiority and challenging us to grapple with what equality really means in a world where people are born different. Weaving together personal stories with scientific evidence, Harden shows why our refusal to recognize the power of DNA perpetuates the myth of meritocracy and argues that we must acknowledge the role of genetic luck if we are ever to create a fair society.

Reclaiming genetic science from the legacy of eugenics, this groundbreaking book offers a bold new vision of society where everyone thrives, regardless of how one fares in the genetic lottery.

Harden is professor of clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is director of the Developmental Behavior Genetics Lab and codirector of the Texas Twin Project. She lives in Austin.