Author | Lightnews

Today was a good start to our second week at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study where Jonatan (the PI of our project) presented on the questions that have brought us together. The Q&A that we all participated in was quite interesting, too.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Oct 3

Here I was talking about the consequences of the changes in classifications (and who was labelled as belonging in them) for conceptualising biological studies. Our discussion focused on the use of such classifications in microbiome research.

ROTO Research Group @roto-rub.bsky.social · Oct 1

Amazing talk by @msimang.bsky.social at the "Human Diversity Dilemma" Workshop (@localmicrobes.bsky.social), Cape Town! Check out this great infographic on shifting racial classif. in South Africa 17-21C by @tessamuldvarp.bsky.social and Phila:
figshare.com/articles/fig...
#hpbio #philsky #race

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Sep 21

Sounds like a good deal, no?

Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Sep 6

Faintly whispering: *but they never fought a war with the intention of being against the forces of White supremacy*

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Aug 25

I’m looking forward to this conference by the Azanian Philosophical Society that will be hosted at Fort Hare this week.

See the full conference programme at the bottom of this page: www.theaps.org/conference-a...

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Aug 11

We are also pleased to announce that our special issue for this event will be published by the South African Journal of Science.

Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · Aug 10

CFA The Human Diversity Dilemma: Navigating the intersection of microbes, ethics & society
ISHPSSB Off-Year Workshop
Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
October 1-3, 2025
Abstracts due Aug.18
Organizers @abigailnd.bsky.social & @msimang.bsky.social
#philsci #STS 🦠
More info ⤵️

Home | The Human Diversity

perspectivesrace.wixsite.com

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Reposted by Phila M. Msimang

Microbiome research and race in the 'Local South' @localmicrobes.bsky.social · Jun 10

Save the date! Interdisciplinary Workshop:
The Human Diversity Dilemma: Navigating the Intersection of Microbiomes, Ethics, and Society in Africa
#hpbio #histbio #philbio 🌱🐋
Check the Call for Abstracts for our special issue on our website: perspectivesrace.wixsite.com/the-human-di...

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Jun 12

Why is English often thought to equate to literary studies more generally? I was struck by your line “Students of English do not expect to emerge from their degrees able to speak a foreign language” when English is a foreign language in most parts of the world it is taught. That feels like a tension

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Jun 10

Yes, it illustrates the social and historical generation of the categories. It shows that these categories and classifications are not labels that we put on nature but something we have created through social processes.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Jun 10

This infographic is meant to show how those in power grouped people in increasingly rigid race-based ways. The aim of illustrating this history from that perspective is to provide a resource for the critique of the racial projects this has been (and continues to be) a part.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Jun 10

The paper will will explain the reasons for certain editorial decisions that we took (e.g., only focusing on the classifications used in the Cape Colony in the period up to 1910, how we reduced some of the complexity in representing how groups were classified, etc.)

Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Jun 10

Here is an infographic that Tessa Moll (@tessamuldvarp.bsky.social) and I made about the development of racial classifications in South Africa from 1652 to the present. A paper explaining its content is in the works. For now, feel free to download the infographic here: dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.f...

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Reposted by Phila M. Msimang

Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · May 13

New today: Iyer et al., "African Genetic Ancestry, Structural and Social Determinants of Health, and Mortality in Black Adults," jamanetwork.com/journals/jam....
Tl;dr: It's the 2nd (social determinants) that most effect the 3rd (mortality), not the 1st (genetic ancestry). Yet look where funding is!

African Genetic Ancestry, Social Determinants, and Mortality in Black Adults

This cohort study investigates the independent associations of African genetic ancestry and structural and social determinants of health with mortality among Black US adults.

jamanetwork.com

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Reposted by Phila M. Msimang

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · May 1

"...for protests to succeed, they must be backed by movements with the ability to promise to withhold—labor, debt payments, rent payments, or consumer support—and to follow through if demands aren’t met."

Glad to have gotten the opportunity to push this line in Time

time.com/collections/...

Why Protests Should Be Promises

Modern movements that aim to advance racial equity should withhold and promise, rather than perform, writes Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

time.com

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Apr 9

I enjoyed giving this presentation and the discussion that followed. I am thankful for the ROTO Research Group for having me.

ROTO Research Group @roto-rub.bsky.social · Apr 8

A big thanks to @msimang.bsky.social for his insightful talk on racial and ethnic classifications in medicine yesterday! This was a great start into our Lecture Series in this semester. Thank you also to everyone who joined the talk and discussion! 🤗
#PhilSci #PhilMed #HPBio

Screenshot from Zoom showing the title slide of the talk by Phila Msimang, entitled "Should we use racial and ethnic classifications in medicine?" as well as the speaker and several participants.

Screenshot from Zoom showing a slide about the concept of ethnicity as well as the speaker Phila Msimang.

Screenshot from Zoom showing participants during the Q&A.

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Apr 8

Please share a link to the talk if there will be a hybrid option.

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Reposted by Phila M. Msimang

Microbiome research and race in the 'Local South' @localmicrobes.bsky.social · Apr 1

Great lineup including our favorite philosophers Aline Potiron www.uu.nl/staff/AIPoti... and Phila Msimang @msimang.bsky.social. Don't miss these talks! #hpb 🐋🦠

ROTO Research Group @roto-rub.bsky.social · Apr 1

New semester, new lecture series 🎉
Starting next Monday, we welcome amazing scholars to give talks in #HPBio and medicine - always at 4pm CET on zoom. The first talk will be by @msimang.bsky.social and later in the semester we will hear @stellasandford.bsky.social, @elisj.bsky.social and many more 🤩

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Mar 17

What a view!

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · Mar 3

Here is a new blog post from our collaborative work in the CAT (Constructive Advanced Thinking) group on the history and ethics of the use and management of human remains.

PRIF @prif.org · Feb 28

In colonial contexts, human remains were taken and brought to museums and universities. Efforts to restitute them today come with political frictions, as J. Kurzwelly, @malinowska.bsky.social, @msimang.bsky.social, M. Wilckens & P. Wolff Mitchell explain on #PRIFblog.
blog.prif.org/2025/02/28/b...

Bones of Injustice: Political Frictions in Restitutions of Human Remains from Colonial Contexts - PRIF BLOG

In recent years, many museums and universities have begun to address past colonial injustices by critically examining their collections of human remains, often leading to their restitution to their as...

blog.prif.org

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