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SoSe 17: Eugenic Culture(s)

Simon Strick

Kommentar

Eugenics, the knowledge regime of heredity and racial selection, has consistently been shown to present not merely a set of outdated scientific and political doctrines, but an episteme with immense repercussions in mass culture until the present day. Emerging from scientific discourse in the later 19th century, the US American version of eugenics was strongest between 1900 and 1940, and arguably can be traced within many aspects of contemporary culture and politics. The seminar will introduce students to eugenics as a historical episteme, discuss its biological and scientific underpinnings, and trace its violent effects in American culture. A strong focus will be put on the coupling of scientific theories with mass culture, and we will analyse eugenic and biopolitical aspects in immigration dramas, legislature, horror movies, photography, literature, eugenic exhibits, asf. Concerning theory, the seminar will engage mainly with disability studies and history of science studies, critical perspectives which both argue that eugenics is far from a historical aberrance, but has been crucial to American Culture throughout the 20th and 21st centuries as what we will investigate as the New Eugenics. As such, eugenics is crucial to understand contemporary racism, sexism and ableism. Schließen

14 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Mi, 12:00 - 14:00 14 Termine

Mi, 19.04.2017 12:00 - 14:00

Dozenten:
Dr. Simon Strick