13189
Seminar
WiSe 16/17: Eugenics as a Transnational Movement Between Progressivism and Totalitarianism
Maria-Michaela Hampf
Kommentar
Eugenics, a term coined in 1883 by Francis Galton, has been described as the scientific management of human evolution. It was both an international intellectual movement and a transnational formation of knowledge. Scientists from diverse disciplinary backgrounds subscribed to this movement that was conceived as scientifically grounded and appealed to people who identified with the entire political spectrum from socialist to progressive and conservative. It promised to provide solutions to a host of social problems that were thought to be caused by hereditary factors. Measures to achieve the management of the human “germ plasm” were both voluntary and coercive and ranged from enticing those perceived to be ‘fit’ to have more children (positive eugenics) to discouraging, or preventing, those perceived as ‘unfit’ from reproducing (negative eugenics). Although a genuinely transnational movement, Eugenics resonated in very specific ways in different countries. The concepts of „fit“ and „unfit“ were informed by different social values of race and class and issues like immigration or economic crises. While the state of California was among the first to introduce sterilization laws, various countries – including liberal democracies like Scandinavian welfare states to totalitarian regimes like Nazi-Germany – passed laws providing for voluntary or coerced sterilization, the restriction of immigration and the control of populations. Schließen
16 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung
Do, 20.10.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 27.10.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 03.11.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 10.11.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 17.11.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 24.11.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 01.12.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 08.12.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 15.12.2016 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 05.01.2017 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 12.01.2017 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 19.01.2017 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 26.01.2017 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 02.02.2017 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 09.02.2017 14:00 - 16:00
Do, 16.02.2017 14:00 - 16:00