The next BioCriticism webinar will take place on the 26th of April at 2 pm CET / 1 pm BST: Jerome de Groot (University of Manchester) will give a talk on “The Biomolecularisation of the Archive”. His respondent will be François-Joseph Lapointe (University of Montréal). All are welcome.
“The Biomolecularisation of the Archive”
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 836 8539 6506
Passcode: 602541
Abstract: New genetic approaches to the material of the archive have wide implications for our conception of the past, our understanding of memory, and our broader sense of what historical information even is. Whilst historical data has regularly been developed and challenged, and historians use a breadth of information, my contention is that the accelerated development of huge datasets that are beyond the reach of ‘historians’ has the potential to transform the discipline. Set within (whilst also driving) a wider biomolecular turn in society, as cultural understanding of the past becomes genetically-informed, this change in the historical approach suggests a shift towards what I call ‘double helix history’.
Professor Jerome de Groot teaches at the University of Manchester. He is the author most recently of Double Helix History which looks at DNA and the past. He is currently working on new projects about FutureArchives and Biomolecular Humanities.
Professor François-Joseph Lapointe is a biologist and bioartist, teaching at the Université de Montréal. As part of his research, he is interested in phylogenetics, systematics, and the human microbiome. As part of his artistic practice, he draws inspiration from models of molecular biology and genetics.
