In the Code

The Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge sounds a bit like something out of a George Orwell book or a Saturday morning episode of Beakman’s World. Located at New York University, the institute primarily occupies itself with information and the control of it. Does knowledge still trickle down from universities, religion and the government? Or has new technology put it in the hands of Wikipedia, Oprah and Michael Moore? Such questions occupy the brain of the institute’s director, Troy Duster, who speaks tonight at 7:30 at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics in Lawrence (2350 Petefish Drive on the University of Kansas campus, 785-749-3907). Duster’s lecture — titled “What Does DNA Tell Us About Race?” — will examine the biological and social realities of race in America. “He’s produced groundbreaking work on how race, gender and biogenetics are reflected in the law, public policy, criminality and health care,” Obadare says of Duster. The 71-year-old sociologist and grandson of civil rights advocate Ida B. Wells also discusses his recent book, Whitewashing Race: the Myth of a Color-Blind Society, which demonstrates the persistence of racism in American society and offers a revised vision for achieving true racial equality.

The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics

Thu., Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m., 2008