Document Detail


The Cold War Context of the Golden Jubilee, Or, Why We Think of Mendel as the Father of Genetics.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21656286     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
In September 1950, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) dedicated its annual meeting to a "Golden Jubilee of Genetics" that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the rediscovery of Mendel's work. This program, originally intended as a small ceremony attached to the coattails of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) meeting, turned into a publicity juggernaut that generated coverage on Mendel and the accomplishments of Western genetics in countless newspapers and radio broadcasts. The Golden Jubilee merits historical attention as both an intriguing instance of scientific commemoration and as an early example of Cold War political theatre. Instead of condemning either Lysenko or Soviet genetics, the Golden Jubilee would celebrate Mendel - and, not coincidentally, the practical achievements in plant and animal breeding his work had made possible. The American geneticists' focus on the achievements of Western genetics as both practical and theoretical, international, and, above all, non-ideological and non-controversial, was fully intended to demonstrate the success of the Western model of science to both the American public and scientists abroad at a key transition point in the Cold War. An implicit part of this article's argument, therefore, is the pervasive impact of the Cold War in unanticipated corners of postwar scientific culture.
Authors:
Audra J Wolfe
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Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-6-9
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of the history of biology     Volume:  -     ISSN:  0022-5010     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-6-9     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0202503     Medline TA:  J Hist Biol     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Affiliation:
, Philadelphia, PA, 19143, USA, audrajwolfe@gmail.com.
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