Wendy Kline's lucid cultural history of eugenics in America emphasizes the movement's central; continuing interaction with popular notions of gender and morality. Kline shows how eugenics could seem a viable solution to problems of moral disorder and sexuality; especially female sexuality; during the first half of the twentieth century. Its appeal to social conscience and shared desires to strengthen the family and civilization sparked widespread public as well as scientific interest.Kline traces this growing public interest by looking at a variety of sources; including the astonishing "morality masque" that climaxed the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition; the nationwide correspondence of the influential Human Betterment Foundation in Pasadena; California; the medical and patient records of a "model" state institution that sterilized thousands of allegedly feebleminded women in California between 1900 and 1960; the surprising political and popular support for sterilization that survived initial interest in; and then disassociation from; Nazi eugenics policies; and a widely publicized court case in 1936 involving the sterilization of a wealthy young woman deemed unworthy by her mother of having children.Kline's engaging account reflects the shift from "negative eugenics" (preventing procreation of the "unfit") to "positive eugenics;" which encouraged procreation of the "fit;" and it reveals that the "golden age" of eugenics actually occurred long after most historians claim the movement had vanished. The middle-class "passion for parenthood" in the '50s had its roots; she finds; in the positive eugenics campaign of the '30s and '40s. Many issues that originated in the eugenics movement remain controversial today; such as the use of IQ testing; the medical ethics of sterilization; the moral and legal implications of cloning and genetic screening; and even the debate on family values of the 1990s. Building a Better Race not only places eugenics at the center of modern reevaluations of female sexuality and morality but also acknowledges eugenics as an essential aspect of major social and cultural movements in the twentieth century.
#829471 in Books 2002-12-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .69 x 5.98l; 1.05 #File Name: 0520230957352 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Inserting the Filipina/o people into American historyBy Shawn M. WarswickDorothy Fujita-Rony studied at Yale; earning a BA and finally a Ph.D. in American Studies; studying under the labor historian David Montgomery; and is currently an associate professor of Asian american studies at the University of California-Irvine. She offers the reader a complex argument that Seattle was a colonial metropole; transformed by a fluid transpacific culture and economy. Furthermore she argues that while filipinos were marginalized by the racial hierarchy of the region; they responded by using kinship networks (both within the northwest region and across the Pacific) and unionization to build a home base in Seattle for themselves. Furthermore; she argues that Seattle (and the U.S.) did not just transform Filipino immigrants; but they transformed it and played a part in its growth in the early part of the Twentieth Century.Coving the interwar period in Twentieth century US history; Fujita-Rony’s book is divided into six chapters and three parts (two chapters per part). Part one is titled “Charting the Pacific†and grounds Seattle within the broader context of the Pacific basin. Chapter one; titled “Empire and Migration†delves into economic changes taking place in the Philippines in the wake of the U.S. conquest and the rise of the port of Seattle as a destination for Filipino immigrants (32-39) while Chapter two deals with education in Seattle. Part two titled “Working the American West†is about labor (not surprising considering the mentor and his specialty). Chapter three is titled “Region and Labor†and offers interesting insight into the lives and occupations of the Filipinos who immigrated to the U.S. prior to the outbreak of the second world war (she notes that often Filipinos worked as migrant farm workers during this period). (91) Chapter four offers an interesting insight into Seattle and the area surrounding it as offering “a range of different social possibilities†when compared to the idea of Filipino immigrant community as being a “bachelor society.†(116) Part three is about “Power and Choice†and Chapter five talks about the Filipino struggle for rights and their attempts to challenge (or fight against) outright assimilation into american culture. The final chapter; “Insiders and Outsiders†discusses labor organizing activities and discusses how “union activity could also be a site for intense rivalry and political negotiation.†(170)The historiographical significance of this work in US history is to further the understanding of western US history. Since the 1980’s when historians such as Patricia Limerick and Richard White burst onto the scene and led the way with the new western history; work has been done to further understand the history of the western portion of the U.S and this book certainly falls into that category. Furthermore; it goes a long way to giving a major group such as Filipina/o immigrants their due as contributors not only to the history of the American West; but to U.S. history as a whole. This work shows that; when we think of Asian Americans and their contributions; we can not simply think of Chinese and Japanese Americans; but must remember that Filippina/o Americans played a major role as well.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I was amazed to find a reference to my step-grand-father during the ...By C. SolomonThis is a highly commendable book that required a tremendous amount of research. I was amazed to find a reference to my step-grand-father during the period he was employed in the canneries.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Vinh G PhamItem was received on time; as advertised.
