As he is approaching his subject philosophically, he’s taking careful steps at every stage of his argument. His first goal is to examine how philosophers have dealt with the instability of the definition of race, and how their accounts of race could be ameliorative or useful in medical contexts. “My overarching hypothesis is that a working definition of race should be informed by this goal to alleviate racial injustice,” he said. “As such, any approach should prioritize the voices of those who experience the negative effects of racial injustice.”
And though he’s focused just on medicine in his current research, he sees possible value in his work beyond this field.
“Medicine is the case study, but there are a bunch of conversations in education and law, for instance, around race,” he said. “Maybe the approach should be to unify those conversations into one theory.”
*This summer more than 160 students are pursuing academic research and community-based fellowships. They receive funding from a variety of sources. In many cases the awards fellowships for independent faculty-mentored research projects. Individual departments and programs can also draw from their own funds to give awards to students. In addition, faculty members may use outside grant-funding to hire students on their research projects. Inevitably, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, research methods are having to be modified in some cases this year. Nevertheless, many of these projects are likely to serve as a springboard for senior-year independent study or honors projects.