Freshman Seminar - The Human Genome

     In Freshman Seminar this week our lecturer was a woman from the microbiology department and specialized in the human genome. Although she never got past the first introductory slide she still made some interesting points about the black community in relation to the Human Genome Project, of which, she is a member. The topic of her lecture was supposed to be Abandonment, Dismemberment and Reawakening: The History and Legacy of Howard University, she in her own special way still somewhat touched on the subject. However, most she talked about how every person's individual genome makes them a unique part of the world. She even said that identical twins do not necessarily have the same genome because everyone single person is unique. That phrase gave me a sense of pride i knowing that even if I follow in the steps of others, I am still the ONLY person in this universe that will ever be like me. 


        Also, she told us that our genomes present and intricate history of not only my family ancestry but the black community's ancestry as a whole. The one point that she made which did relate greatly to the topic is that without a knowledge of the history of black people it is impossible for all people to know their true people. When in high school I could remember talking greatly about European and American history which could date back to the BCE age but never did my school ever talk about ancient African history. All other histories branch off from ancient Africa because that is where the world originated. I never actually thought about the world like that but this point is so true. Archaeologist and historians need to focus more on how ancient Africa came to be and how black civilization formulated. Schools need to also emphasize the importance of black history as the origin of all history in general and not only focus on countries such as Greece, Britain and America because countries in Africa date back much farther than any of these countries combined. 


    Although there were times during the lecture when I became bored with the constant talk about the human genome, I still gathered an appreciation for our lecturer's discussion. She offered valid points but I only wish she would have connected other aspects of the lecture's topic into her lecture. Oh well...I guess better luck next Wednesday...