Jon_C_memo_16


 * Methodological, Empirical, Theoretical, and Practical Contributions **Here is a link to a table I made a couple weeks ago, that is helpful here: Levels Table

These were a little difficult for me to separate out, so there is definitely some flow between each of these categories... My data sources will come from participant observation in the Jirtle lab at Duke University, ethnographic interviews with members of said lab and developmental biologists at RPI. I will also discursively analyze popular press and scientific publications for a better understanding (for myself and my informants) about the nature/nurture divide, how it is being reframed, and also for their discussions and treatments of race within their research methods and experimental design. I will need to look at the way their institutions are forming, and how they work, in order to get a better understanding of what constitutes "epigenetic science" and how they "cast their lot."
 * Methodological:**

By focusing on epigenetic research in the United States, my project should contribute information about disciplinary formation, the production of knowledge, and the treatment of race and the discussion of nature/nurture within science and other broader cultures and disciplines.
 * Empirical:**

I hope to conceptualize how science is used to make more science -- looking specifically at the way experiments are designed in order to not only reproduce old results, but to produce new science. An integral part of this is the structure, both physical and social, of the laboratory; I will need to draw on and contribute to theories regarding the social construction of knowledge. My research questions should bring me into theoretical discussions of epistemology (nature/nurture divide), anthropological discourse on race (race), and STS-specific theories about expertise and disciplines (expert/discipline formation), to all of which I hope to contribute.
 * Theoretical:**

Since my research project will be a synthesis of anthropological methods, and theories from many disciplines, it should give other researchers a better understanding of how to do and frame their own research, and also show how new scientific disciplines are formed. It should also advocate for more nuanced conceptualizations of race, as it is an inherently anti-racist and biological determinist project. Because it will be looking at research on the limen of nature and culture, it should also show that the boundaries between the two are not as "solid" as many of us would like, and this should contribute to the anti-racism project within popular culture and anthropology.
 * Practical:**