Eugenics at UCL: We inherited Galton

On 10 October 1904, Francis Galton wrote to Sir Arthur Rücker (Principal of the University of London) with an offer to fund a study of National Eugenics, which he defined as: ‘the influences that are socially controllable, on which the status of the nation depends. These are of two classes: (1) those which affect the race itself and (2) those which affect its health.’ This date of this event commemorates that letter and takes place in a lecture theatre named after Francis Galton himself.

We are keen for this event to discuss and consider questions around ‘race’ and racial construction posed by the legacy of Eugenics@UCL. Please email us with comments or questions beforehand or tweet before or during the event using either #eugenics@UCL or #UCLfacesRace.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk...

Further programme Information:
Short Film: Mahmoud Arif (UCL Student) asks ‘Why do we celebrate Francis Galton when he hated people like us?’; Subhadra Das (Curator, UCL Teaching & Research Collections, Biomedical & Galton) introduces the Galton Collection at UCL; Carole Reeves (UCL Science & Technology Studies) discusses the Haarfarbentafel, an instrument in the Galton Collection; Debbie Challis (UCL Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology) talks about the archaeologist Flinders Petrie’s racial theories.

Topics and Speakers:
‘The Galton Archive’: Katy Makin (UCL Special Collections)
‘Teaching about Science and Race at UCL’: Lars Fischer (UCL History)
‘Gender and Eugenics’ Lesley Hall FRHistS (Senior Archivist, Special Collections, Wellcome Library & Honorary Lecturer in History of Medicine, UCL).
‘Assumptions around Nature and Nurture in educating Chinese students today’: Vivienne Lo, (UCL History)
‘The economics of Eugenics’: Hugh Goodacre (UCL Economics & University of Westminster)