Events

Past Event

A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream

October 15, 2018
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
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Join us for a film screening and panel discussion of A DANGEROUS IDEA: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream, a documentary that came out in 2017 and was co-produced by CSSW alumna Mary Morgan.

A dangerous idea has threatened the American Dream from the beginning—the belief that some groups and individuals are inherently superior to others and more deserving of fundamental rights. Such biological determinism provided an excuse for some of America’s most shameful history, and may be rearing its ugly head again. Featuring interviews with social thinkers such as Van Jones and Robert Reich, as well as prominent scientists, A DANGEROUS IDEA is a radical reassessment of the meaning, use and misuse of gene science. This documentary brings to light how false scientific claims have rolled back long-fought-for gains in equality, and how powerful interests are poised once again to use the gene myth to unravel the American Dream.

Trailer – A Dangerous Idea (03:12) from Stephanie Welch on Vimeo.

About the Panel
MODERATOR:
Irwin Garfinkel, Ph.D. (bio), Interim Dean and Mitchell I. Ginsberg Professor of Contemporary Urban Problems, Columbia School of Social Work

PANELISTS:

Andrew Kimbrell (bio), Executive Director, Center for Food Safety
Mary R. Morgan (bio), Executive Producer
Robert E. Pollack, Ph.D. (bio), Professor of Biological Sciences, Columbia University (interviewed in the film)
Patricia J. Williams, J.D. (bio), James L. Dohr Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

Questions?
Please contact [email protected].