This course will examine the history of eugenics (the worldwide movement to biologically transform humans into genetic "supermen"), and racial science (the simultaneous attempt to justify the elimination of "undesirable" racial minorities). Advocates of these ideas worked in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, primarily in the first half of the twentieth century. In this course we will examine the ideas behind eugenics and racial science, trace the growth of this movement, and consider its political, social, and ethical results. United States and Nazi German eugenics and racial science will receive particular attention. For some assignments, students in this class will work in teams with American students taking the same course in the USA. Lectures and readings will be in English and German.
- Dozent/in: Angela Schwarz