Tilghman talks about genome, race in annual Baldwin lecture

In “The Meaning of Race in the Post-Genome Era,” Tilghman charted the historical basis of the intersection between scientific inquiry and racial classifications, beginning with an early attempt by 18th-century Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus to divide the human race into five categories based on skin color.

“Linnaeus’ profound error was to conflate race with character, making sweeping generalizations about the traits of categories of peoples based on prejudice, rather than careful observation or measurement,” Tilghman said. “This unscientific leap ... would persist for centuries and survive, at least in part, because it could hide behind the mantle of scientific credibility.”

Tilghman noted that the topic of her lecture should be an area of discussion within the University community.

“We need to be a leading voice in this debate,” she explained. “As a community in which scientists, social scientists and humanists work and study in close proximity to one another, we can ensure that this discussion is as broad as it absolutely needs to be.”

During the lecture, Tilghman also discussed the flaws in previous scientific attempts to explain the biological basis of race, citing phrenology, craniology and eugenics as examples.

American phrenologists Orson and Lorenzo Fowler, Tilghman said, approached the question of race with preconceived ideas.

“They began with their conclusion — the superiority of the European or Caucasian people — and then set about seeking data that would confirm that conclusion,” Tilghman said.

But current scientific movements such as the Human Genome Project have also received criticism for their consideration of race, Tilghman explained, as she discussed the project’s inherent advantages and problems.

Tilghman, who played a key role in the Human Genome Project and was a founding director of the University’s Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, said in an interview before the lecture that she was “excited” to present the lecture and was “looking forward to getting feedback on it.”

The lecture not only gave her the opportunity to discuss something other than Unviersity policy, Tilghman explained, but also offered her the chance to expand her knowledge of molecular biology.

“I’ve never talked about this subject — ever,” she said. “It’s interesting to learn how geneticists are exploring the extent of human diversity. I think what I’ve talked most about in recent years have been issues like stem cell research, cloning, the human genome project, things which came close to my field of study.”

Before serving as president, Tilghman taught molecular biology at the University for 15 years — a field she said she misses while fulfilling her current responsibilities.

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“It’s almost inevitable,” she said. “I spent the vast majority of my professional career in molecular biology. I miss the excitement and ideas that always energized me around that topic. But there’s very little time for remorse.”

Tilghman oversaw the creation of the Center for African American Studies in 2006, before which the program existed as a certificate program for 37 years. For her leadership in increasing the University’s commitment to African-American studies, Tilghman was awarded the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal by Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute in 2009.