Centering Race and Disability in Histories of Eugenics

This conference brings together scholars across disciplines whose research examines the intersections of race and disability and can speak to the history and legacy of eugenics in the United States. Ableism, racism, and xenophobia sat at the core of eugenics, and theories of hereditary fitness shaped categories and experiences of dis/ability, citizenship, reproduction, race, gender and sexuality. Presenters will use frameworks and lenses from history, literature, education, ethnic studies, gender and women's studies, and sociology to help us understand the overlaps and distinctions of harmful and insidious histories of eugenics and their resonances today.

CART captioning services will be provided, and print or digital copies of the talks can be provided upon request. The Huntington strives to be accessible, inclusive, and diverse in our facilities, programming, and academic offerings. If you have a disability (including but not limited to learning or attention, mental health, concussion, vision, mobility, hearing, physical or other health-related), require communication access services other than CART, or believe that you require a reasonable accommodation for another reason please contact researchconference@huntington.org to discuss your needs. Given our continued concerns about COVID transmission and awareness that some people in our community remain particularly vulnerable to viral infection, we ask that you consider masking while indoors.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, OCT. 14

9:30–10 a.m. | Registration & Coffee

10–10:30 a.m. | Welcome & Remarks
Natalia Molina (The Huntington), Alexandra Minna Stern (University of Michigan/University of California, Los Angeles) and Natalie Lira (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

10:30 a.m.–noon | Session 1—Legal and Carceral Logics
Moderator: Alexandra Minna Stern (University of Michigan/University of California, Los Angeles)

• Susan Schweik (University of California, Berkeley), "Archeology of the 'Feebleminded': Abolition, Decolonialization, and Resisting Eugenics”
• Liat Ben-Moshe (University of Illinois at Chicago), “The Resurgence of Eugenics in the 1970s: Biologizing Violence and (Anti)psychiatrizing Race"

Noon–1 p.m. | Lunch (extra charge)

1–2:30 p.m. | Session 2— Gender and Sexuality
Moderator: Natalie Lira (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

• Jess Waggoner (University of Wisconsin - Madison), “Race, Gender and the Role of Carework in Reinforcing & Resisting Eugenics, 1900-1950”
• Jess Whatcott (San Diego State University), “Maternalist Eugenics and Queer Anti-Eugenics in the Archives of California’s Disability Institutions”
• Natalie Lira (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), “‘All I’ve Ever Done is Work’: Reproduction and Labor at the Intersections of Race, Gender and Disability”

2:30–3 p.m. | Break

3–4:30 p.m. | Session 3—Racism and Xenophobia
Moderator: Alexandra Minna Stern (University of Michigan/University of California, Los Angeles)

• Ayah Nurridin (Princeton University), "Liberation Eugenics"
• Rana Hogarth (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), "The 'Science' of Miscegenation: Race Crossing in the Era of Eugenics"

SATURDAY, OCT. 15

9:30–10 a.m. | Registration & Coffee

10–11:30 a.m. | Session 4—A Century of Eugenics in the Golden State
Moderator: Natalie Lira (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

• Miroslava Chávez-García (University of California, Santa Barbara), "The Architects of Hate: The Battle for Population Control, Immigration Restriction, and Eugenics in California, 1960s to 2000s"
• Isidro González (University of California, Santa Barbara), "Dysgenic Proportions: Race and Science in the Making of Disability in California, 1900-1930."
• Gabriela G. Corona Valencia (University of California, Los Angeles), “Resisting Carceral State Memory: Tracing the Life of Concepcion Ruiz"

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Lunch (extra charge)

12:30–1:30 p.m. | Session 5—Archives and Memory
Moderator: Alexandra Minna Stern (University of Michigan/University of California, Los Angeles) & Peter Sachs Collopy (California Institute of Technology)

1:30–2 p.m. | Break

2 p.m. | Closing Reflections

Funding provided by The Molina Family Foundation