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Learn about 乱伦秀鈥檚 historical role in the teaching and study of the history of eugenics.
What is eugenics?
Eugenics is the scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding. The term聽was coined by Sir Francis Galton in 1883. It is derived from the Greek word 鈥渆ugenes鈥�, meaning 鈥済ood in birth鈥� or 鈥済ood in stock鈥�.聽
乱伦秀鈥檚 official apology for its role in the development of eugenics as a scientific endeavour explains:聽
鈥淭his dangerous ideology cemented the spurious idea that varieties of human life could be assigned different value. It provided justification for some of the most appalling crimes in human history: genocide, forced euthanasia, colonialism and other forms of mass murder and oppression based on racial and ableist hierarchy.聽The legacies and consequences of eugenics still cause direct harm through the racism, antisemitism, ableism and other harmful stereotyping that they feed. These continue to impact on people's lives directly, driving discrimination and denying opportunity, access and representation.鈥澛�
How is 乱伦秀 involved in its inception?聽聽
Francis Galton left 乱伦秀 a financial legacy to establish聽a professorship聽and a research centre into the study of eugenics. Many 乱伦秀 researchers contributed to the聽academic work behind the eugenics movement in the early twentieth century.聽There is聽a section on聽乱伦秀鈥檚 links with eugenics in their online Introductory Programme聽for all new students.聽
Dr Adam Rutherford explains further in the videos below.聽
Hear more from 乱伦秀鈥檚 Dr Adam Rutherford聽
Eugenics: 乱伦秀鈥檚 unique legacy聽
Eugenics: Know the past, protect the future聽
Eugenics: Bigotry disguised as biology聽
笔辞诲肠补蝉迟蝉听
BRICKS + MORTALS聽
乱伦秀鈥檚 former collections curator, Subhadra Das, created an eight-part series聽telling the story of the pivotal role 乱伦秀 played in establishing the 鈥榮cience鈥� of eugenics. It also considers how 乱伦秀 has/had chosen to remember this history聽through building names.聽
Bad Blood: The Story of Eugenics聽
Dr Adam Rutherford鈥檚 , looks at the movement to breed 鈥榖etter鈥� people: its dark history and troubling present.聽
What does eugenics mean to us?
Working with research colleagues and聽the Sarah Parker Reymond Centre, Subhadra Das created a five-part series discussing, examining, critiquing聽and exploding聽eugenic thinking, what does eugenics mean to us?.