Speaker: Fred Gould (https://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology-and-plant-pathology/people/fgould/)

Abstract: Neil DeGrasse Tyson is quoted as saying, “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.” I will challenge that assertion. For 16 years the Soviet Union banned Mendelian genetics. Some say that this resulted from the Soviet leaders being fooled by the pseudoscience of TD Lysenko, but there is much more to the Soviet decision. I will provide a history of the formation and retention of this ban and how it was interwoven with the history of the eugenics movement in England and the US. These histories demonstrate how cultures have influenced science and affected societies. I will draw on these histories as case studies that should inform our current scientific enterprise.

If you are unable to attend in person, please email David Andow (daandow@ncsu.edu) for a Zoom link.

And, stick around afterwards for a happy hour at Raleigh Brewing Company!