Dissertation Research: Comparing Eugenics in Cuba and the U.S., 1933-1959

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This Science and Technology Studies Dissertation Improvement Grant is on the Cuban eugenics movement from 1933 to 1959. It's main objective is to investigate scientific and popular understandings of eugenics, as well as the impact of the institutionalization of eugenics on gender roles and sexuality in Cuba at this time. Funding will support extraordinary costs to conduct archival research on Cuban eugenists, on public outreach efforts to educate Cubans about sexuality, and on laypeople's responses to these eugenists' efforts in 1933-1959. Because of the current State Department ban on federally funded travel to Cuba, the student will access primary sources in the U.S. only. Primary sources located in the Library of Congress and the National Library of Medicine in Washington DC, and at the libraries at the University of Florida and Miami, as well as University of California will provide primary sources. The doctoral student will utilize existing studies on international eugenics and compare them to her findings on Cuban eugenics. This project is comparative on two levels: first, it will compare two distinct .waves. of Cuban eugenics, 1900-1933 and 1933-1959; second, it will compare Cuban eugenics with U.S. eugenics in the period between 1933 and 1959. This project will contribute to theories concerning the appeal, impact, and longevity of the eugenics movement. In addition, these comparisons will further theoretical understandings of the relation between national history and scientific social movements that are global in their provenance. The proposed dissertation research on eugenics will advance knowledge and understanding of the interactions between biomedical science, technology, and society in both national and global realms. The proposed research advances discovery and understanding of the complexity of the eugenics movement. The study will use theories and methods advanced by Science and Technology Studies scholars to investigate the ways in which the science of eugenics shaped Cuban society and culture. Successful completion of the proposed dissertation research will provide training and assistance toward the completion of the doctoral student's Ph.D. in history and anthropology. The doctoral student plans to conduct research and teach in upper-level scholarly institutions in the future, thus benefiting future scholars and students.