Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Anne Pfister
Faculty Sponsor College
College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Sponsor Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Location
SOARS Virtual Conference
Presentation Website
https://unfsoars.domains.unf.edu/2021/posters/embodied-injustices-covid-19-race-and-epigenetics/
Keywords
SOARS (Conference) (2021 : University of North Florida) – Archives; SOARS (Conference) (2021 : University of North Florida) – Posters; University of North Florida -- Students -- Research – Posters; University of North Florida. Office of Undergraduate Research; University of North Florida. Graduate School; College students – Research -- Florida – Jacksonville – Posters; University of North Florida – Undergraduates -- Research – Posters; University of North Florida. Department of Sociology; Anthropology; and Social Work -- Research – Posters; Project of Merit Award Winner; Digital Projects Showcase Exhibitor Award
Abstract
Digital Projects Showcase Exhibitor Award Although historical and even modern accounts of race assume significant biological differences between racial groups, race has little biological meaning. Nonetheless, the social construct of race has real consequences. Racial identity defines boundaries of community and impacts the experiences of individuals, including how people live and die during a pandemic. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected minority communities in the United States, triggering many explanations for racial disparities in health. Through an analysis of sources spanning from popular media to traditional academic journals, I analyze the potential for epigenetic research to serve as a missing link that operationalizes the embodiment of racialized social experiences as comorbidities that enhance vulnerability to COVID-19. The theory of embodiment describes how our material and social worlds become embodied aspects of our biology. Epigenetic modifications, which affect gene expression without changing the nucleotide sequence of DNA, exemplify the body’s porousness to the external environment as they can be triggered by environmental stressors. Minority populations are more likely to be subject to environments characterized by exposures ranging from residential pollution to malnutrition. In turn, these stimuli are linked to stress, metabolic, and respiratory disorders which increase COVID-19 susceptibility.
Rights Statement
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Included in
Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
Embodied Injustices: COVID-19, Race, and Epigenetics
SOARS Virtual Conference
Digital Projects Showcase Exhibitor Award Although historical and even modern accounts of race assume significant biological differences between racial groups, race has little biological meaning. Nonetheless, the social construct of race has real consequences. Racial identity defines boundaries of community and impacts the experiences of individuals, including how people live and die during a pandemic. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected minority communities in the United States, triggering many explanations for racial disparities in health. Through an analysis of sources spanning from popular media to traditional academic journals, I analyze the potential for epigenetic research to serve as a missing link that operationalizes the embodiment of racialized social experiences as comorbidities that enhance vulnerability to COVID-19. The theory of embodiment describes how our material and social worlds become embodied aspects of our biology. Epigenetic modifications, which affect gene expression without changing the nucleotide sequence of DNA, exemplify the body’s porousness to the external environment as they can be triggered by environmental stressors. Minority populations are more likely to be subject to environments characterized by exposures ranging from residential pollution to malnutrition. In turn, these stimuli are linked to stress, metabolic, and respiratory disorders which increase COVID-19 susceptibility.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/soars/2021/spring_2021/33