Kathryn Paige Harden

Clinical psychologist Dr Kathryn Paige Harden argues that the science of genetics can help to create a more equal and just society.

Harden presents the latest genetics science, which she says dismantles dangerous ideas on racial superiority and challenges us to grapple with what equality means in a world where people are born different. Harden argues that the refusal to recognise the power of DNA perpetuates a myth of meritocracy and that we must acknowledge the role of genetic luck if we are to create a fairer society.

Harden is a tenured professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She leads the university’s Developmental Behavior Genetics lab and co-directs the Texas Twin Project.

This event is part of the festival’s programme of American literature and culture.