Nora Bateson
Team Human
The Historical Context of Institutions and the Beginnings of Eugenics
Institutions were formed during the burgeoning industrialism, coinciding with the rise of eugenics in the late 1800s. The scientific community, including William Bateson who coined the term genetics, became interested in eugenics to control and define what is normal or abnormal, and to develop procedures to fix abnormalities. This idea infiltrated various institutions including economics, psychology, the school and health systems. The focus was on controlling and defining normalcy, giving rise to various constructs like personality tests, IQ tests, and ideas about development. This historical context of eugenics continues to influence our modern world, as seen in the popularity of personality tests and job assessments, which can be considered dangerous remnants of this past era.
