Bricks + Mortals

1. BRICKS + MORTALS: Introduction – The science of eugenics

Eugenics – the science of improving human populations by selective breeding – is generally associated with the Nazis, but in fact has its roots in Britain.

2. BRICKS + MORTALS: Marie Stopes, and How Eugenics Was Going to Make the World a Better Place

Stopes is celebrated as a feminist icon and champion for birth control. Her eugenic motivations, however, are less well known.

3. BRICKS + MORTALS: Francis Galton and the Birth of Eugenics

In 1883, Galton coined the term ‘eugenics’, the study of human characteristics passed on through the generations with a view to improving the human species.

4. BRICKS + MORTALS: The Eugenics Records Office at University College

Galton’s Anthropometric Laboratory was re-established at the Eugenics Records Office at University College in 1904.

5. BRICKS + MORTALS: Revising Charles Darwin, and the Galton Laboratory for National Eugenics at UCL

Charles Darwin and Francis Galton were cousins, and had more in common than is usually assumed, particularly when it comes to their views on eugenics.

6. BRICKS + MORTALS: Flinders Petrie and the archaeology of ‘race’

Called ‘The Father of Modern Archaeology,’ Petrie worked closely with Karl Pearson and Francis Galton at UCL to establish eugenics as a science.

7. BRICKS + MORTALS: Alice Lee and Cicely D. Fawcett – The Making of a Science

Alice Lee and Cicely D. Fawcett were two women ‘computers’ at UCL and both played key roles in establishing eugenics as a scientific discipline.

8. BRICKS + MORTALS: Karl Pearson and Eugenics at UCL

When telling the story of eugenics at UCL, it is safe to say that Karl Pearson – the statistician and first Professor of Eugenics – brought it here.

9. BRICKS + MORTALS: Conclusion – What we choose to remember

Moving forward from the legacy of eugenics at UCL by looking beyond the bricks and mortar.