Racial Science Now: Histories of Race and Science in the Age of Personalized Medicine

The revitalization of race-based science and medicine at the very moment in which the history of “race” in science gained such widespread critical attention forces difficult questions regarding the success of the field. This article outlines the current debate over race in contemporary biomedical research and offers a case study of the RaceSci: A History of Race in Science Web project. One of the earliest electronic resources devoted to the history of race in science, RaceSci was relaunched in early 2007 to expand its focus on the present. To date, historians are generally absent from the academic and public dialogue on the “return” of racial science. In response, RaceSci aims to better engage historians with the raced-based organization of current scientific research, particularly in genetics, drug development, and the rise of so-called “personalized” medicine.