Latin Eugenics in Comparative Perspective

Book excerpt: Latin eugenics was a scientific, cultural and political programme designed to biologically empower modern European and American nations once commonly described as 'Latin', sharing genealogical, linguistic, religious, and cultural origins. Latin Eugenics in Comparative Perspective offers a comparative, nuanced approach to eugenics as a scientific programme as well as a cultural and political phenomenon. It examines the commonalities of eugenics in 'Latin' Europe and Latin America. As a program to achieve the social and political goals of modern welfare systems, Latin eugenics strongly influenced the complex relationship of the state to the individual. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary sources in many languages, this book offers the first history of Latin eugenics in Europe and the Americas.