Thesis ID: CBB001561852

Heredity and the Human Condition: A Study of 20th-Century Genetic Accounts of Alcoholism (2002)

unapi

Russell, Mark C. (Author)


Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Pitt, Joseph C.


Publication Date: 2002
Edition Details: Advisor: Pitt, Joseph C.
Physical Details: 259 pp.
Language: English

This dissertation takes as its starting point some curious historical parallels in research on the heritability of alcoholism from opposite ends of the 20{super}th{/super} century, and the underlying continuity in assumptions implicated by these parallels. Rather than review mainstream historical narratives on the origins of genetic research and alcoholism studies, I examine evidence and developments as yet unexplored by scholars. First I examine the origins of recent research models and diagnostic criteria that provide evidence for the hereditary nature of alcoholism. Then I consider the assumption of genetic determinism and its relationship to strategies of propaganda employed by the Eugenics movement early in the century. Using these historical ``snapshots'' I draw out conceptual and philosophical problems with the genetic explanation of alcoholism that continue to confront researchers today. These limitations suggest two possible avenues of resolution: either we develop finer-grained strategies for distinguishing social deviance from physical disorders, or we develop an integrated understanding of the complex interplay of human biological and cultural systems by extending the approach known as Developmental Systems Theory. In the conclusion, I explore these options and their potential ramifications for our understanding of alcoholism in hereditary and human contexts.

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Description Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 65/09 (2005): 3542. UMI pub. no. 3144969.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001561852/

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Authors & Contributors
Edman, Johan
Silberstein, Marc
Lambert, Gérard
Lettow, Susanne
Pemberton, Stephen
Witkowski, J. A.
Concepts
Genetics
Heredity
Medicine
Alcoholism
Biology
Disease and diseases
Time Periods
20th century
19th century
21st century
Places
United States
Sweden
Germany
Great Britain
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