X-Men: First Class
Before the film, Boston University geneticist and author Shoumita Dasgupta (Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins: Lessons on Belonging from Our DNA) will use the latest science to correct common misconceptions about how much of our social identities are actually based in genetics, and talk about how we can approach scientific evidence in a socially responsible way.
Following the classic mythology, X-Men: First Class charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. In the early 1960s, during the height of the Cold War, a mutant named Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) meets a fellow mutant named Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). Despite their vastly different backgrounds—Charles grew up with a wealthy family, while Erik lost his parents at Auschwitz—the two become close friends. As the world teeters on the brink of a nuclear war, Charles and Erik with other mutants join forces to save humanity. However, a situation soon tears the friends apart.
About Shoumita Dasgupta
Shoumita Dasgupta is the daughter of Bengali immigrants, a woman of color in STEM, and a scientist educator and geneticist. She is Professor of Medicine and Assistant Dean of Diversity & Inclusion at Boston University, a Fulbright Specialist, and a member of the inaugural cohort of faculty affiliates at the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research.
