I'm an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. My primary areas of research are the sociology of science and knowledge/STS, comparative-historical sociology, social theory, medical sociology and qualitative methods. In my book project, Mobilizing Mutations, I examine the way that genetics is reshaping medical classification and giving rise to new ways of understanding human difference. Using comparative-historical methods and fieldwork, I show how the discovery of genetic mutations can lead to the delineation of novel categories of disease and difference - a practice I call 'genomic designation'. What's more, some of these mutations are being mobilized by experts and advocates alike as both new forms of illness and privileged sites of biomedical knowledge production. By tracing the social histories of these mutations, I argue that we are able to grapple with much broader issues at the intersection of the biomedical sciences and society. My work has appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, Social Studies of Science, Theory & Society, Social Science & Medicine, the Journal of Historical Sociology, BioSocieties and the Journal of Genetic Counseling. |
email: dnavon@ucsd.edu
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology University of California, San Diego Education
2013: PhD in Sociology, Columbia University 2010: MPhil in Sociology, Columbia University 2008: MA in Sociology, Columbia University 2005: MA (undergrad) in Philosophy, University of Edinburgh |