Don’t mention the shark: reflections on teaching a difficult topic

Thursday 1 May 2025, 13:00-14:00 (online)

This seminar will explore the insights and reflections from UCL’s Eugenics Legacy Education Project (ELEP), a three-year initiative aimed at embedding the understanding of UCL’s historical involvement in eugenics into the university’s curriculum. The event will bring together educators, students, and community members to discuss the project’s findings and their implications for teaching and learning.    

Why was ELEP established?

The Eugenics Legacy Education Project was established in response to the recommendations from the Inquiry into the History of Eugenics at UCL. The project seeks to address the historical and ongoing impacts of eugenic ideas within the institution and beyond. By fostering a deeper understanding of this troubling legacy, the project aims to promote a more inclusive and socially just educational environment. 

Discussion topics will include 
Historical Context and UCL’s Role: The impact of eugenic ideas on contemporary educational practices and policies. 
Project Findings and Reflections: Reflections on the challenges and successes of integrating this ‘difficult knowledge’ into the higher education curriculum. 
Pedagogical Approaches: Amplifying UCL colleagues and their innovative teaching methods for addressing sensitive and complex historical topics. 
Future Directions: Recommendations for ongoing and future initiatives to address historical injustices in higher education.  

Who Should Attend 

Educators and Academic Staff: Interested in developing inclusive and socially just curricula. 
Students: Particularly those from backgrounds affected by eugenic beliefs and policies, and those interested in social justice and historical inquiry. 
Researchers and Policy Makers: Focused on the intersections of history, education, and social justice. 

Join us for a thought-provoking seminar that aims to reflect on the past, understand its impact on the present, and chart a course for a more equitable future in higher education. 

Event background

The event is organised by UCL’s Eugenics Legacy Education Project (ELEP), a programme of education activity to help address UCL's harmful historical links to eugenics. 
 
ELEP is theoretically anchored within the field of difficult knowledge studies. Britzman (1998) developed the concept of ‘difficult knowledge’ to investigate the ways that experiences of education and learning can be problematic, uncomfortable, and even harmful when encountering complex curriculum areas. ELEP supports educational projects that encourage engagement with core issues in social justice-oriented approaches to education, such as difficult knowledge.