This study examines how African American intellectuals, many of them participants in the racial uplift movement, utilized the ideas of the eugenics movement as a strategy for the social, biological, and political improvement of African Americans. Focusing on the first five decades of the twentieth century, my thesis examines eugenic theories present in scientific, social, and popular discourses targeted towards African Americans. I argue that while the inflection of scientific racism in eugenics deterred some African Americans from adopting its themes, eugenics promotion of increased reproduction amongst the better segments of society meshed well with racial uplifts commitment to social advancement. This study adds to previous scholarship on the eugenics movement, which has tended to focus exclusively on African Americans as subjects of eugenic initiatives. The result is a reconsideration of eugenics that includes a more diverse set of voices than previously appreciated, and also illustrates that African American leaders borrowed from and adapted eugenic philosophies to fit their goals.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-04092013-223607 |
| Date | 19 April 2013 |
| Creators | Chresfield, Michell |
| Contributors | Anastasia Curwood, Sarah Igo |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-04092013-223607/ |
| Rights | restrictone, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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