Americans are obsessed with tracing their family trees. Enabled by the Internet and advances in genetic technology, millions of people are diving deep into their family histories on WikiTree and Ancestry.com, or discovering their ethnic makeup down to the decimal point using 23andMe. Someday, the explosion of DNA-based genealogy could even create a universal family tree. So, how could these data sets alter how we think about ourselves? Should you feel a connection with someone because a genetic test says she’s your seventh cousin?

Join New America NYC and Future Tense at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, for a discussion about where technology could take our sense of history and identity. RSVP here.

Participants:

A.J. Jacobs
Author and founder of Global Family Reunion

Wilhelmina Rhodes Kelly
Genealogist and founder of the Queens chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution

Maud Newton
Author, "America's Ancestry Craze," Harper's

Chris Whitten
CEO, WikiTree