Comprehending the Body in the Era of the Epigenome

Abstract

This paper suggests that it is urgent for anthropologists to respond to a current move in epigenetics in which nature and nurture are no longer understood as dichotomous elements. It is argued that a neobiological reductionism is currently taking shape due to molecularization of the environment by epigeneticists. Anthropological concepts of embodiment should be retheorized in light of this development. The formation of epigenetics as a discipline is discussed, then the habitual black-boxing of the post-Enlightenment material body is noted. Five illustrative examples are given of recent epigenetic findings: the impact of maternal stress on fetal dysfunction, social deprivation and epigenetic changes, food as molecularized epigenetics, aging and epigenetics, and toxins as epigenetic triggers. “Embedded bodies,” “local biologies,” and “biosocial becomings” are introduced as concepts that enable the insertion of an anthropological perspective into this emerging debate. A brief account of historical trauma and its ongoing effects as experienced by First Nations and Inuit of Canada are given in conclusion. It is argued that historical and ethnographic accounts are indispensable if epigenetic findings are to avoid neoreductionism and contribute to policy changes to improve human well-being.