Event 2

Event 2 Blog Response on Clemence Pinel's The Construction of the ‘Environment’ in Epigenetics Research: A Social Study

The event circulated around studies that were done by Clemence Pinel who is a social scientist of biomedicine and bioscience. The main study at hand focused on how the environment has impacted epigenetic research, and has influenced collaborations between scientists and various environmental teams. More specifically, Pinel’s studies and research focused on finding out the various ways scientific knowledge is produced. She has carried out her studies by analyzing the cultural, historical, and social contexts of how scientific knowledge is produced. 

Ethnography (Nature.nl)

Pinel is not an epigenetic scientist or researcher, however. Rather, she uses ethnography in her research to better understand epigenetic knowledge and how it has become what it is now (Edipapo). She says that she began her research into this epigenetic field by immersing herself in what she calls the “epigenetic culture”, studying the culture in order to find valuable ethnographic answers in this new world (Pinel). Interestingly, she claimed that she knows nothing about epigenetic studies, but rather she is just bringing a new perspective, offering a sociological perspective that do influence science and the production of science (Pinel).

What this event and further research helped me realize was that mixing art and science does not require the standard modes of creativity that we expect. That is, the two studies can be mixed, subsequently giving birth to a new form of study (art), in innumerable ways. What Pinel does is exactly that. She takes a study like ethnography, and combines it with the study of sciences, producing not an artwork or visually appealing project, but a solution to questions that have never been answered before. 

Ethnography as an art form (Boise State University)

Ethnography as an Art?

Some may brush off my previous notion that her combination of ethnography and epigenetic research is not a form of art. However, the reason I claim that such is the case is because ethnography is art in it’s own sense. Although Pinel’s case involves limited expression of visually artistic form, her research incorporates the social study of ethnography, which according to Deller is commonly portrayed through artistic mediums like photography. That is, negating ethnography as an art form is equivalent to saying that human behavior, art history, or even studies of literature are not forms of art simply because they don’t utilize artistic expression through visualization. 

Design Ethnography, a short film by Boise State University

Her form of amalgamation of art and epigenetic research was something that most people never encountered (or even heard of) before, but that should not discredit the fact that the work she is doing is in itself a form of artistic expression. An example of ethnography being an art form can be seen through Patricia Esteve, a photographer that developed a project to study the ethnography of people who were suffering from depression or had loved ones commit suicide, and portrayed their experiences through photography (Business Daily).

How is all of this connected to epigenetics? 

Epigenetics is the study of genes and gene expression that specifically do not involve changes in the DNA sequence (whatisepigenetics). This is what Pinel focused her “artwork” on, expressing (studying) it through means of her ethnographic perspective. Although I was not able to acquire specific results from her analysis / research, there are plenty of other researches that show epigenetics is heavily impacted by the environment. According to the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, various environmental factors can affect gene regulation by creating marks on the epigenome. One example I found online of the impact the environment has on epigenetics showed analysis of data collected in 1944-1945 Netherlands, the time frame in which the country suffered severe hunger and other difficult conditions (Hanel). The data from this study showed that the children born during this time were physically smaller, had an higher risk of obesity, and were more frequently exposed to heart and brain problems (Hanel).

Netherlands during Hunger of 1944 (Harvard Magazine)

Overall, this event showed me that artistic expression, and combining various studies to answer questions can be done in a infinite number ways. I invite all my fellow DESMA friends to partake in events like such to learn other mediums through which combinations of studies can help bring a new perspective to a study!

Proof of attendance:

 

Works Cited

Clemence Pinel. “Ethnography of Epigenetics.” KCL, King's College London, www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/sshm/research/Podcasts/Clemence-Pinel.aspx.

Deller, Jeremy. “Visual Ethnography – Art Term.” Tate, Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/v/visual-ethnography.

Hanel, Stephanie. “Epigenetics – How the Environment Influences Our Genes.” The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, 5 Aug. 2015, www.lindau-nobel.org/epigenetics-how-the-environment-influences-our-genes/.

UCLA Insitute for Society and Genetics. “The Construction of the Environment in Epigenetic Research.” The UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, EpiDaPo Labratory, socgen.ucla.edu/events/the-construction-of-the-environment-in-epigenetics-research-a-social-study/.

Photos/Videos Cited

Boise, director. Design Ethnography. Design Ethnography, Youtube Inc., 7 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSWP4zR1o8w.

Boise State University. “Design Ethnography.” BoiseState, Boise State University , online.boisestate.edu/certificate-programs/design-ethnography/.

Buffum, Jude. “Epigenetic Modulation.” Harvard Magazine, Harvard Magazines Inc. , 2017, harvardmagazine.com/2017/05/is-epigenetics-inherited.

Nature.nl. “Netherlands, Hunger Period.” ResidentAlien, Wordpress, 25 May 2012, residentalien.co/2012/05/25/the-netherlands-in-wwii-the-hunger-winter/.

Bibliography

Boise, director. Design Ethnography. Design Ethnography, Youtube Inc., 7 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSWP4zR1o8w.

Boise State University. “Design Ethnography.” BoiseState, Boise State University , online.boisestate.edu/certificate-programs/design-ethnography/.

Buffum, Jude. “Epigenetic Modulation.” Harvard Magazine, Harvard Magazines Inc. , 2017, harvardmagazine.com/2017/05/is-epigenetics-inherited.

Clemence Pinel. “Ethnography of Epigenetics.” KCL, King's College London, www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/sshm/research/Podcasts/Clemence-Pinel.aspx.

Deller, Jeremy. “Visual Ethnography – Art Term.” Tate, Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/v/visual-ethnography.

Hanel, Stephanie. “Epigenetics – How the Environment Influences Our Genes.” The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, 5 Aug. 2015, www.lindau-nobel.org/epigenetics-how-the-environment-influences-our-genes/.

Nature.nl. “Netherlands, Hunger Period.” ResidentAlien, Wordpress, 25 May 2012, residentalien.co/2012/05/25/the-netherlands-in-wwii-the-hunger-winter/.

UCLA Insitute for Society and Genetics. “The Construction of the Environment in Epigenetic Research.” The UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, EpiDaPo Labratory, socgen.ucla.edu/events/the-construction-of-the-environment-in-epigenetics-research-a-social-study/.