With and without Galton : Vasilii Florinskii and the fate of eugenics in Russia / Nikolai Krementsov.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Krement︠s︡ov, N. L., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Galton, Francis, 1822-1911.

Galton, Francis.

Florinskīĭ, V. M. (Vasilīĭ Markovich), 1833-1899. Usovershenstvovanie i vyrozhdenie chelovecheskogo roda.

Florinskīĭ, V. M.

Florinskīĭ, V. M. (Vasilīĭ Markovich), 1833-1899.

Eugenics--Soviet Union--History.

Eugenics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (696 pages)

Place of Publication:

Open Book Publishers 2018

Cambridge, England : Open Book Publishers, [2018]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this lucid and insightful work, Nikolai Krementsov argues that the concept of eugenics brings together ideas, values, practices, and fears energised by a focus on the future. It has proven so seductive to different groups over time because it provides a way to grapple with fundamental existential questions of human nature and destiny. With and Without Galton develops this argument by tracing the life-story of Florinskii's monograph from its uncelebrated arrival amid the Russian empire's Great Reforms, to its reissue after the Bolshevik Revolution, its decline under Stalinism, and its subsequent resurgence: first, as a founding document of medical genetics, and most recently, as a manifesto for nationalists and racial purists. Krementsov's meticulously researched 'biography of a book' sheds light not only on the peculiar fate of eugenics in Russia, but also on its convoluted transnational history, elucidating the field's protean nature and its continuing and contested appeal to diverse audiences, multiple local trajectories, and global trends. It is required reading for historians of eugenics, science, medicine, education, literature, and Russia, and it will also appeal to the general reader looking for a deeper understanding of this challenging subject.

Contents:

Preface; List of Abbreviations; List of Illustrations; Note on Names, Transliterations, and Translations; Acknowledgments; The Faces of Eugenics: Local Mirrors and Global Reflections; I. "HYGIENIC" AND "RATIONAL" MARRIAGE; 1. The Author: Vasilii Florinskii; 2. The Publisher: Grigorii Blagosvetlov; 3. The Book: Darwinism and Social Hygiene; 4. The Hereafter: Words and Deeds; II. "BOURGEOIS" AND "PROLETARIAN" EUGENICS; 5. Rebirth: Eugenics and Marxism; 6. Resonance: Euphenics, Medical Genetics, and Rassenhygiene; 7. Afterlife: Medical Genetics and "Racial" Eugenics.

8. Science of the Future: With and Without GaltonApologia: The Historian's Craft; Notes; Index.

Notes:

CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9791036525063

9781783745135

1783745134

OCLC:

1076784449

Publisher Number:

10.11647/OBP.0144

Access Restriction:

Unrestricted online access