Defense Date
3-27-2020
Graduation Date
Spring 5-8-2020
Availability
One-year Embargo
Submission Type
thesis
Degree Name
MA
Department
History
School
McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
Committee Chair
John C. Mitcham
Committee Member
Andrew T. Simpson
Keywords
Eugenics, British Eugenic Society, Francis Galton, Karl Pearson, Leonard Darwin, Britain
Abstract
The historical narrative of eugenics often focuses on those eugenic societies and movements that ‘succeeded’ in part or in full in achieving a eugenic society. Less studied are those societies that failed, whether due to social backlash or internal incoherence. The British Eugenic Educational Society as the foundational point of eugenics, has therefore been overlooked as a result of it’s perceived lack of contribution to eugenic thought and its failure to pass eugenic legislation. Founded by Francis Galton, the originator of the philosophy of eugenics, the British Eugenic Educational Society should have been successful given it’s reputation and the numerous scientific, political and literary luminaries attached to it. By examining the causes of its failure historians may be better able to understand why eugenics never ‘succeeded’ in the British Isles.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Gallagher, A. (2020). British Eugenics Failure and Success (Master's thesis, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1883
Included in
Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons, European History Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Medical Humanities Commons, Social History Commons