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2008 Autumn Quarter
Psychology 804 Advanced Comparative Psychology
The study of standardized animal models to understand human disease has now become routine practice; however, its acceptability was established in large part through the use of inbred mice, as Karen Rader convincingly argues in her book, Making Mice. This seminar course will investigate how genetically standardized mice came to play a central role in contemporary American biomedical research. We will review such topics as the physiological and behavioral problems with albinism, selection for high reproductive output and low reactivity, as well as inbreeding. The seminar will also review the role of the ‘typological’ thinking using highly inbred species (i.e., ‘the mouse’ or ‘the rat’) that mask the importance of genetic variation in health, disease, and biology in general.
Autumn Quarter 2008
Instructor: Randy Nelson
Fridays 12-2:00 pm
