- Summary
- "Who was the scientific progenitor of eugenic thought? Amir Teicher challenges the preoccupation with Darwin's eugenic legacy by uncovering the extent to which Gregor Mendel's theory of heredity became crucial in the formation (and radicalization) of eugenic ideas. Through an analysis of the entrenchment of genetic thinking in the social and political policies in Germany between 1900 and 1948, Teicher exposes how Mendelian heredity became saturated with cultural meaning, fed racial anxieties, reshaped the ideal of the purification of the German national body, and ultimately defined eugenic programs. Drawing on scientific manuscripts and memoirs, bureaucratic correspondence, court records, school notebooks, and Hitler's table talk as well as popular plays and films, Social Mendelism presents a new paradigm for understanding links between genetics and racism, and between biological and social thought"--Provided by the publisher.
- Variant Title
- Genetics and the politics of race in Germany, 1900-1948
- Format
- Book
- Author/Creator
- Teicher, Amir, 1978- author.
- Published
- Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2020
©2020
- Locale
- Germany
- Contents
-
Mendel's laws and their application to humans, 1865-1913
Mendelism maturing : from experimental to interpretative framework, 1913-1933
Mendelism, purity and national renewal
Annihilating defective genes : Mendelian consciousness and the sterilization campaign
Mendelizing racial antisemitism
Epilogue: Social Mendelism beyond the Nazis.
- Notes
-
Includes bibliographical references (pages 232-263) and index.
Mendel's laws and their application to humans, 1865-1913 -- Mendelism maturing : from experimental to interpretative framework, 1913-1933 -- Mendelism, purity and national renewal -- Annihilating defective genes : Mendelian consciousness and the sterilization campaign -- Mendelizing racial antisemitism -- Epilogue: Social Mendelism beyond the Nazis.
