Due Nov. 28
Steph:
I completed the Human Variation Quiz. There was not one specific question I struggled with, but several. I do not remember ever learning about anything that extensive regarding human DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and its’ origins. I was surprised to find out that human DNA came out of Africa over 100,000 years ago. ( http://www.understandingrace.com/humvar/index.html ) Before this assignment, I had never really thought of where human DNA came from at all. I recently completed one of the DNA tests that allowed you to see where your DNA comes from, and everything for mine was Scotland, Wales, and Western Europe. So it made me wonder how many generations I would have to research in order to find African DNA in my bloodlines.
Another question I thought was interesting was the sickle cell trait question. Learning the trait is more prevalent in areas where malaria is present, shows how amazing the body is at adapting. ( http://www.understandingrace.com/humvar/index.html ) This only makes sense, because the areas malaria is not as prevalent, would have no reason to try and become more resistant. This also leads to the trait of lighter or darker skin. The darker skin changed in response to the strength of the ultra violet (UV) rays of the sun in the areas impacted. ( http://www.understandingrace.com/humvar/index.html )
To answer the question “Are we so different?” I think it is clear the answer is no. While skin color does look different, it does not make a person different. In the military you work with people from all walks of life, all races, ethnicities, cultures, and languages. You work with all people, everyone is doing the same job, and everyone works together. How boring would it be to only have all the same people with the same experiences all the time? Learning about other people and cultures is such a great experience, I cannot imagine not having those places to travel to, or the people to learn about.
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Justin:
For this week’s forum I chose to take the quiz, overall it was a pretty easy quiz. I only got one of the questions wrong probably because of me doing this week’s lesson and readings before I took it. The question I missed was asking about why the sickle cell trait became prevalent. The fact is that it became prevalent in Africa because it allows for the human body to fight off the disease malaria. It isn’t known when sickle cell evolved in people who lived in the Africa region of the world but when it did it would give the population a higher survival rate for the disease malaria. The way this works is when malaria infects a host it tries to take over the red blood cells in the body. When it infects the blood cells the malaria does not have the suitable host to reproduce because of the mutation with the irregular shaped cells. Also the cells carry an abnormal amount of Hemoglobin that does not allow for the malaria to take over the cell and start to reproduce. One of the other questions that would not have been able to answer before this lesson would have been is race a genetic concept or a social concept. My whole life I thought that race was a genetic concept because of the different color of people’s skin. I already knew why people had different shades of skin color because of the UV rays where they live that made since to me, but I thought race was determined by that. I am glad I learned this I think it is very interesting. I wonder when people started to develop the social construct of different races.
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Cory:
For this weeks topic I went with the topic of finding a culture that has a third gender. After looking around for a bit I found the Hijra they are found in India. Hijra have been apart of the culture there for as long as the culture has been around they have played many roles within the culture as well. The Hijra have been mentioned in many ancient texts but most notably the Karma Sutra book from the Hindus. The Hijra hold significant roles in some of the most important text in Hinduism including Mahabharata and the Ramayana. One of the many forms of Shiva, a principal Hindu deity, involves him merging with his wife, Parvati, to become the androgynous Ardhanari, who holds special significance to many in the Hijra community(Nambiar) . Even though the Hijra have played such a large role in the Hindu culture, when India came under colonial rule in the 19th century British authority's sought to eradicate and criminalize the Hijra community through various laws and rule. After India broke free of colonial rule these laws and rules were later repealed, even though the Hijra are still revered and sought after to perform religious ceremonies they still fall victim to the hate of others. The government has tried to protect them with laws and give them better living conditions but all of these acts have fallen short and the Hijra still live in subpar conditions and get attacked on a regular basis.