Jeudi 13 février à 17h : Amélie Bonney et Christelle Gomis: “Standardizing Deficiency: Eugenic theories and the shaping of race, class and gender dynamics in Britain (1880-1970s)”
This panel investigates the long-lasting effects of theories of race and social hierarchy which developed during the nineteenth century in Britain. Focusing on educational and working environments, it shows how these theories contributed to shaping power dynamics in Britain from the late 1880s to the 1970s, focusing specifically on the ways it intersected with race and gender dynamics as well as with debates about the family. Améie Bonney’s paper explores the rise of occupational medicine as a field at the turn of the twentieth century, and shows how eugenic thought contributed to shaping the ways in which some of the symptoms of white lead poisoning were understood and addressed, focusing particularly on female workers. Christelle Gomis’s paper examines the influence of eugenic ideologies on the British education system during the post-war period, specifically in the context of Caribbean migration during the Windrush Era (1948-1971). It explores how these ideologies shaped the categorization and treatment of Caribbean children within the subnormal school system, highlighting the racial biases embedded within educational policies. By analyzing archival materials from the Inner London Education Authority and the Black Parents Movements, the project sheds light on the social and economic ramifications of such segregation and the advocacy efforts by parents, educators, and activists to push for educational reforms and challenge these injustices.
“The rise of occupational medicine, eugenics and debates over the risks of lead poisoning in Britain”
Amélie Bonney, D.Phil History of Science, Medicine and Technology, University of Oxford, UK / PRAG, Faculté des Sciences, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France – amelie.bonney@gmail.com
In the final decades of the nineteenth century, debates surrounding the legislation of workmen’s compensation made it necessary to better define thresholds of acceptable levels of toxicity in order to decide who could claim compensation. This renewed interest in occupational diseases fuelled new publications focusing specifically on the ‘diseases of occupations’ in Britain. While this raised hopes for a specialized study of dangerous work environments and the toxic substances that affected workers, in reality, the approaches of occupational physicians and industrial hygienists were also shaped by contemporary debates on eugenics and fears over the degeneration of the race. Racial theories developing in the second half of the nineteenth century – at a time of economic depression, rising social tensions and challenges to Britain’s imperial rule – significantly affected the ways in which occupational diseases were explained. In 1857, Bénédict Morel’s work on degenerescence investigated the effects of poisons such as white lead on the physiognomy of workers, an approach which subsequently persisted in the work of British experts. The standardisation of occupational medicine as a field cannot be dissociated from eugenic theories developed in the aftermath of Francis Galton’s publication of Hereditary Work on Genius (1869). Prominent figures in the field of occupational medicine such as Thomas Oliver and Thomas Arlidge approached some of the effects of lead poisoning through this lens. In particular, one major source of concern was the effect on motherhood and on the fitness of future generations, which was an argument promoted to further regulate some trades, however establishing distinctions based on gendered lines. The concerns of medical practitioners contrast with working-class women’s use of white lead as an abortive, which shows that far from being only victims of the substance, they also used it with an understanding of some of its effects.
Far from being ignorant of the toxic effects of white lead, workers also had an understanding of the risks they were subjected to. A history from below of workers’ knowledge of risks thus allows us to argue that there also existed an alternative form of knowledge of risks to the one developed by official ‘experts’.
“Eugenics, Postcolonial Migration, and the Fight for Meritocratic Education in Post-War Britain (1920s-1970s)”
Christelle Gomis, Ph.D, EUI, Florence, Italy – christelle.gomis@eui.eu
In the aftermath of World War II, the UK’s educational system faced significant challenges as it grappled with the consequences of eugenic ideologies and the impact of Caribbean migration. This paper examines how eugenics influenced the development of the subnormal school system, particularly in the context of post-war immigration. The placement of Caribbean children in these schools highlights the racial biases embedded within educational policies of the time. The legacy of eugenics in Britain, deeply intertwined with the educational policies of the 20th century, cannot be overlooked. Prominent eugenic theories that emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries continued to shape societal views on intelligence and disability. These theories, which emphasized heredity and the prevention of “racial degeneration,” significantly impacted the categorization and treatment of children deemed “subnormal.” The interwar period (1918-1939) played a crucial role in embedding eugenic ideas within the British educational and social systems. During this time, the eugenics movement gained substantial traction, influencing public policies and educational practices. Reports and studies from this period, such as the Wood Report of 1929, reinforced the exclusion of mostly lower-class children based on perceived intellectual deficiencies, often informed by eugenic principles. This era also saw the establishment of special schools and classes for children deemed mentally defective, which laid the groundwork for the subnormal schools that proliferated in the post-war years. The arrival of Caribbean migrants during the Windrush era (1948-1971) added a new dimension to these issues, as many children from these communities were unjustly placed in subnormal schools. This placement was influenced by eugenic beliefs that linked race with intellectual capability and by a broader socio-political context that viewed these children through a lens of deficiency. Key legislative frameworks, such as the 1944 Education Act, and critical reports like the 1978 Warnock Report, played pivotal roles in shaping and eventually challenging these discriminatory practices. The experiences of Caribbean children in London subnormal schools are critical for understanding the broader impact of eugenics on British education. Education reports from the Inner London Education Authority reveal the ambivalences of an institution caught between an emerging anti-racist awareness and fears of overcrowding. Archives from the Black Parents Movement shed light on the experiences of those affected, detailing the social and economic ramifications of such segregation. They also highlight the advocacy and resistance efforts by parents, educators, and activists, who played a crucial role in pushing for educational reforms and exposing the injustices faced by these communities.