Genetics, Biopower and History (HPSC20025)

"Genetics, Biopower and History" will look at the way that models of inheritance have impacted upon politics and society over the last two hundred years. Since before Darwin and Mendel, science was fascinated with the mechanisms of reproduction and inheritance and sought to select traits that would produce stronger and healthier animals and humans. This old project was re-energised by Darwin's discoveries and then, a few years later, the emergence of Mendelian genetics.

On the face of it, selecting beneficial traits to make Homo sapiens stronger and healthier looks like a Good Thing. Who wouldn’t wish everyone to be the best they can—fit, healthy, and free from disease? And, if you could wipe out hereditary conditions, wouldn’t you do it? But the seemingly noble aim of improving the human species has often resulted in malign political programmes targeting vulnerable groups including people with disabilities, people suffering from mental ill-health, and LGBTQI+ people. At its most extreme—the Nazi death camps and settler-colonial dispossession of first nations’ peoples—the desire to “improve” the species has led to genocide.

We will explore the disturbing biopolitical history of genetics right up to the present day, unpacking the relationship between science and politics whenever the idea of breeding better humans has been mooted. This subject uses the blended learning model, with lecture and other materials delivered online, supplemented by in person workshops. It is aims to develop your research and communication skills, while enhancing your ethical understanding of the world. It will be of interest to students across a wide range of disciplines, from the sciences to the humanities.