2008 Woodie Awards
Yale Professor Explores History Of Eugenics
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: News
A Yale history professor lectured on the history and future of eugenics in America, and hypothesized about the kind of effect it could have if used by governments.
Daniel Kevles gave his lecture in Konover Auditorium Thursday, which was part of The Heinz and Virgina Herrmann Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights and the Life Sciences.
Eugenics is the practice of trying to improve human genetics by controlling reproduction, traditionally with sterilization or genocide, as the Nazis attempted during World War II.
Kevles was introduced by history department head Shirley Roe who lauded him for his knowledge and comprehensive work of literature on the topic of science and human rights.
Kevles began the lecture by reflecting on the massive leaps scientists have made in the name of biology and genetic research. Given the success of the human genome project, where scientists map each gene in the human DNA strand, and the booming biotech industry, he predicted that eugenics could re-emerge as a possibility, and commenced a review of how eugenics emerged in American society in the early 1900s, and the human rights violations that came with it.
"Eugenics was not unique to the Nazis," he said. "It could and did happen virtually everywhere."
The surprising thing about the movement, according to Kevles, was how strongly it was picked up by the scientific community of the time. It was supported by many prominent doctors, psychologists and biologists of the period, many of whom found a home in Connecticut.
"Eugenics enjoyed strong support from social scientists, physicians and biologists at many prominent universities, including my university and your sister school, Yale," he said. "In fact, Yale and New Haven were a leading vital center of eugenics and its advocacy in the middle third of the 20th century."
In fact, one of the most prominent groups, The American Eugenics Society, was located in New Haven.
The popularity of eugenics was so great that the government got involved, creating a eugenics record office to conduct research and create an index of negative and positive traits in families.
Daniel Kevles gave his lecture in Konover Auditorium Thursday, which was part of The Heinz and Virgina Herrmann Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights and the Life Sciences.
Eugenics is the practice of trying to improve human genetics by controlling reproduction, traditionally with sterilization or genocide, as the Nazis attempted during World War II.
Kevles was introduced by history department head Shirley Roe who lauded him for his knowledge and comprehensive work of literature on the topic of science and human rights.
Kevles began the lecture by reflecting on the massive leaps scientists have made in the name of biology and genetic research. Given the success of the human genome project, where scientists map each gene in the human DNA strand, and the booming biotech industry, he predicted that eugenics could re-emerge as a possibility, and commenced a review of how eugenics emerged in American society in the early 1900s, and the human rights violations that came with it.
"Eugenics was not unique to the Nazis," he said. "It could and did happen virtually everywhere."
The surprising thing about the movement, according to Kevles, was how strongly it was picked up by the scientific community of the time. It was supported by many prominent doctors, psychologists and biologists of the period, many of whom found a home in Connecticut.
"Eugenics enjoyed strong support from social scientists, physicians and biologists at many prominent universities, including my university and your sister school, Yale," he said. "In fact, Yale and New Haven were a leading vital center of eugenics and its advocacy in the middle third of the 20th century."
In fact, one of the most prominent groups, The American Eugenics Society, was located in New Haven.
The popularity of eugenics was so great that the government got involved, creating a eugenics record office to conduct research and create an index of negative and positive traits in families.
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