Many people associate eugenics with forced sterilization campaigns and the promotion of “breeding” among those deemed the nation’s “fittest” (whitest) citizens. In the decades before and after the turn of the 20th century, eugenics was embraced world-wide through all branches of science and sponsored by prestigious universities. Only after the horrors of Nazi genocide, which was carried out in the name of racial “purity” and Aryan superiority, was the eugenics movement discredited and disavowed by mainstream public officials and scientists. But the influence of eugenics was not so easily contained after over 50 years of established scientific thought had pervaded global discourse and entered the homes of millions of people through popular magazines and newspapers. Reaching far beyond genetic control, eugenics helped shape emerging social scientific fields from home economics, to anthropology, psychology, and criminology and introduced powerful ideas about health, hygiene, and behavior as visible markers of racial worth.
This course examines how eugenic racial thought has structured modern understandings of race, bodily discipline, and national belonging, particularly in the United States. We take up historical case studies that include dousing Mexican immigrants in kerosene baths and health examinations for European immigrants, as well as Better Baby and Fitter Family contests that awarded prizes at state fairs. We explore the dangerous connections forged between race, disease, criminality, and intelligence, as well as the ways public policy, medicine, and social institutions have consistently prioritized the health and well-being of white families. By confronting the past and present of eugenic thought, this course invites students to critically examine how notions of white superiority continue to shape political discourse and social life in the contemporary moment.
Summer Registration Opens
Monday, March 30, 2026 at 8 AM (AZ Time)
