Description
The history of eugenics and racial nationalism in Central and Southeast Europe is a neglected topic of analysis in contemporary scholarship. The 20 essays in this volume, written by distinguished scholars of eugenics and fascism alongside a new generation of scholars, excavate the hitherto unknown eugenics movements in Central and Southeast Europe, including Austria and Germany. Eugenics and racial nationalism are topics that have constantly been marginalized and rated as incompatible with local national traditions in Central and Southeast Europe. These topics receive a new treatment here. On the one hand, the historiographic perspective connects developments in the history of anthropology and eugenics with political ideologies such as racial nationalism and anti-Semitism; on the other hand, it contests the 'Sonderweg' approach adopted by scholars dealing with these issues.
About the Author
Marius Turda is Professor in 20th Century Central and Eastern European Biomedicine at Oxford Brookes University. He is Director of the Centre for Medical Humanities. Paul J. Weindling is Wellcome Trust Research Professor in the History of Medicine at Oxford Brookes University.
Reviews
"These essays make the convincing argument that race was more important in Eastern Europe, compared with eugenics in other parts of the world, and that the region's political leaders believed that racial nationalism was the key to creating national identity, thus their support to the science of better breeding. Summing up: recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above." * Choice *
"The editors tell us that in Central and Eastern Europe, eugenics and national racism were the cornerstones used in building the nation and the state. Far from giving in to the siren call of the forces of reaction, this 'parti de la nature', as Claude Levi-Strauss calls it, brought together two modern and highly toxic substances: eugenics and ultra nationalism." * Medical History *
"Filled with new information and original ideas and offering intriguing incentives for further research, this well-edited volume is not only a remarkable edition to the literature on European eugenics but provides invaluable insights into the broader currents of intellectual life in central and southeast Europe." * Slavic Review *
"Bisher kaum bekannt war die Entwicklung der Eugenik in den ostmitteleuropaischen Staaten. Marius Turda und Paul J. Weindling haben sich dieses weissen Flecks angenommen und bieten mit ihrem Sammelband einen umfangreichen UEberblick zu verschiedenen Aspekten und Tendenzen in den Landern von OEsterreich bis Rumanien und von Estland bis nach Bulgarien. Wahrend die Forschung zur Eugenik meist im Bereich der Medizinalgeschichte oder im Kontext des Nationalsozialismus abgehandelt wird, gehen die Autoren des Buches der Frage in einem allgemeinhistorischen Zusammenhang nach: Wie beeinflusste eugenisches Denken die Ausformung der Nationalismen in den jungen Staaten des 'Cordon sanitaire' oder konstituierte ihn gar? Der Sammelband is nicht nur ein aufschlussreiches Kompendium, er wird ein Standardwerk zum Thema Eugenik in Ostmitteleuropa bleiben." * Jahrbucher fur Geschichte Osteuropas *
"The Central European University Press is to be congratulated for publishing two outstanding scholarly analyses of the root causes of anti-Roma racism, which is rapidly taking center stage in the drama of the East European transition process. The books (Blood and Homeland and The Roma in Romanian History) fill a large gap in urgently needed knowledge. They may well become essential research tools for politicians and social and educational planning departments that are approaching the challenge of European integration. The books will be useful also for university courses in history, sociology, and politics, as well as Holocaust and genocide studies." * Transitions Online *
Book Information
ISBN 9789637326813
Author Marius Turda
Format Paperback
Page Count 478
Imprint Central European University Press
Publisher Central European University Press
Weight(grams) 635g
About the Author
Marius Turda is Professor in 20th Century Central and Eastern European Biomedicine at Oxford Brookes University. He is Director of the Centre for Medical Humanities. Paul J. Weindling is Wellcome Trust Research Professor in the History of Medicine at Oxford Brookes University.
Reviews
"These essays make the convincing argument that race was more important in Eastern Europe, compared with eugenics in other parts of the world, and that the region's political leaders believed that racial nationalism was the key to creating national identity, thus their support to the science of better breeding. Summing up: recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above." * Choice *
"The editors tell us that in Central and Eastern Europe, eugenics and national racism were the cornerstones used in building the nation and the state. Far from giving in to the siren call of the forces of reaction, this 'parti de la nature', as Claude Levi-Strauss calls it, brought together two modern and highly toxic substances: eugenics and ultra nationalism." * Medical History *
"Filled with new information and original ideas and offering intriguing incentives for further research, this well-edited volume is not only a remarkable edition to the literature on European eugenics but provides invaluable insights into the broader currents of intellectual life in central and southeast Europe." * Slavic Review *
"Bisher kaum bekannt war die Entwicklung der Eugenik in den ostmitteleuropaischen Staaten. Marius Turda und Paul J. Weindling haben sich dieses weissen Flecks angenommen und bieten mit ihrem Sammelband einen umfangreichen UEberblick zu verschiedenen Aspekten und Tendenzen in den Landern von OEsterreich bis Rumanien und von Estland bis nach Bulgarien. Wahrend die Forschung zur Eugenik meist im Bereich der Medizinalgeschichte oder im Kontext des Nationalsozialismus abgehandelt wird, gehen die Autoren des Buches der Frage in einem allgemeinhistorischen Zusammenhang nach: Wie beeinflusste eugenisches Denken die Ausformung der Nationalismen in den jungen Staaten des 'Cordon sanitaire' oder konstituierte ihn gar? Der Sammelband is nicht nur ein aufschlussreiches Kompendium, er wird ein Standardwerk zum Thema Eugenik in Ostmitteleuropa bleiben." * Jahrbucher fur Geschichte Osteuropas *
"The Central European University Press is to be congratulated for publishing two outstanding scholarly analyses of the root causes of anti-Roma racism, which is rapidly taking center stage in the drama of the East European transition process. The books (Blood and Homeland and The Roma in Romanian History) fill a large gap in urgently needed knowledge. They may well become essential research tools for politicians and social and educational planning departments that are approaching the challenge of European integration. The books will be useful also for university courses in history, sociology, and politics, as well as Holocaust and genocide studies." * Transitions Online *
Book Information
ISBN 9789637326813
Author Marius Turda
Format Paperback
Page Count 478
Imprint Central European University Press
Publisher Central European University Press
Weight(grams) 635g
