Eugenics at the Royal Society, 1860-1950

英国皇家学会与优生学有着密切的联系：该领域的创始人弗朗西斯·高尔顿是优生学的庆祝会员，许多院士都是优生学的积极支持者(Boulter，2017)。然而，由于优生学作为一门边缘科学的声誉(Schaffer，2008)与皇家学会作为领先科学机构的声誉相冲突，对两者之间的关系从未进行过彻底的调查。这个项目将填补这一史学空白：跨越1860-1950年，它将揭示这个精英科学机构对英国优生学运动的支持和作用。尽管这个项目首次描绘了皇家学会与优生学联系的历史，但它并不是第一次对优生学进行研究，也不是一个组织在优生学运动中的地位--例如，关于优生学学会在英国优生学中所扮演角色的丰富的史学研究(Bland and Hall，2010；Hart，2012；Searle，1979)。该项目将通过评估英国皇家学会在个人、财务和组织层面上与优生学的关系来借鉴和丰富优生学的史学。英国优生学运动传统上被理解为以阶级为中心(Searle，1979)。然而，最近的研究表明，英国优生学也被定义为反犹太主义(Maxwell，2022；Hart，2012)、种族主义(Turda，2010；Maxwell，2022；Blandand Hall，2010；Poskett，2021)和帝国(Poskett，2021；Boulter，2017；Chakrabarti，2021)。这个项目将寻求对英国优生学的多方面的理解，询问种族科学的“发展”如何影响皇家学会对优生学的接受，以及优生学的流行与国家和帝国的政治状态有多大的联系。这个项目跨越了近一个世纪，在这段时间里，优生学的性质和优先事项发生了重大变化(Searle，1979；Hart，2012；Boulter，2017)。因此，重要的是要问：皇家学会对什么是优生优育的理解随着时间的推移而改变，这与它对这场运动的支持程度有何关联？这个项目将丰富科学、政治和英国殖民主义的史学。这是因为它将整合这些领域，并揭示它们之间的相互联系，同时探索以前没有研究过的主题。该项目还将产生多方面的影响。首先，它将鼓励对皇家学会历史的进一步研究，因为我将把档案材料数字化--这将使未来更容易导航。其次，这个项目得到了皇家学会的积极支持，这意味着有一个重要的机会让公众参与和产生影响。在一个数据痴迷的世界里，自己动手进行基因测试越来越普遍，这个项目无疑会引起公众的兴趣。在我的第二年，我特别兴奋能在皇家学会领导一个关于这个项目的研讨会。我也热衷于策划一个关于该项目的一个方面的展览--这可能是在线的，也可能是由科学博物馆等机构主办的。

The Royal Society has a strong link with eugenics: Francis Galton, the field's founder, was acelebrated Fellow, and a substantial number of Fellows were active supporters of eugenics(Boulter, 2017). However, due to eugenics' reputation as a science on the periphery(Schaffer, 2008) conflicting with the Royal Society's reputation as a leading scientificinstitution, a thorough investigation into the relationship between the two has never beencarried out. This project will fill this historiographical gap: spanning the period 1860-1950, itwill uncover this elite scientific institution's support of and role in the British eugenicsmovement.Though this project charts the history of the Royal Society's connection with eugenics forthe first time, it is not the first study of eugenics or an organisation's place in the movement- for instance, there is a rich historiography of the Eugenics Society's role in British eugenics(Bland and Hall, 2010; Hart, 2012; Searle, 1979). This project will draw on and enrich thehistoriography of eugenics by assessing the Royal Society's relationship with it at thepersonal, financial, and organisational level.The British eugenics movement has traditionally been understood to centre around class(Searle, 1979). However, more recent work has shown that British eugenics was also definedby anti-Semitism (Maxwell, 2022; Hart, 2012), racism (Turda, 2010; Maxwell, 2022; Blandand Hall, 2010; Poskett, 2021), and empire (Poskett, 2021; Boulter, 2017; Chakrabarti,2021). This project will pursue this multi-faceted understanding of British eugenics, askinghow "developments" in racial science influenced the Royal Society's acceptance of it, andhow far the popularity of eugenics was linked to the political state of the country andEmpire.This project spans a period of almost a century, during which the nature and priorities ofeugenics changed significantly (Searle, 1979; Hart, 2012; Boulter, 2017). It is thereforeimportant to ask: Did the Royal Society's understanding of what constituted eugenicschange over time, and how did this correlate to its level of support for the movement?This project will enrich the historiographies of science, politics, and British colonialism. Thisis because it will integrate these fields and reveal their interconnectivity while exploring apreviously unstudied topic. The project will also have a multi-stranded impact. Firstly, it willencourage further research into the history of the Royal Society, as I will digitise archivalmaterial - which will make it easier to navigate in future. Secondly, this project has theactive support of the Royal Society, meaning that there is a significant opportunity for publicengagement and impact. In a data-obsessed world where do-it-yourself genetic tests areincreasingly widely available, this project will undoubtedly be of interest to the public. I amparticularly excited to lead a workshop about the project at the Royal Society in my secondyear. I would also be keen to curate an exhibition about an aspect of the project - this couldeither be online or hosted by an institution such as the Science Museum.