Openingslezing: Eugenics – Critical perspectives on a creeping concept between science and ideology

Eugenics, in its broadest sense, refers to the attempt to “improve” a population, for example, by controlling procreation. Although the ideas behind eugenics go back to ancient Greece, the term – which literally means “good birth” (eu-genics) – was first coined in the 19th century by Francis Galton. Leveraging the credibility, authority, and prestige of evolutionary theory, statistics, and genetics, it managed to appear objective, neutral, and even inevitable. Yet, at its core, eugenics is deeply political. To claim that the population should be “improved” already assumes that someone has decided what counts as “better”, reflecting social prejudice and privilege. Eugenics can therefore be seen as a form of oppressive, scientific ideology that hides its bias behind the façade of science. As such, eugenics is not a single movement of the past, but a creeping concept, re-emerging in new forms and contexts. What matters is not only its historical appearances, but also its logic, which continues to resonate: what does the concept of eugenics allow, enable, or encourage – and equally, what does it ignore or suppress? This lecture series will take up that challenge. We explore how eugenics has been defined, invoked, and justified, what it has legitimized, and what oppressive practices it has created.