In Breeding Superman<\/i>, Dan Stone aims to describe and resolve the confusion that still surrounds eugenics in inter-war Britain.\u00a0 Many people are under the impression that the study of eugenics in Britain was based primarily on class, and was less focused on race.\u00a0 However, Stone argues vehemently against this belief, stating that race and class eugenics were virtually interchangeable in Britain.<\/p>\n
Stone notes several influential British eugenicists, including Robert Reid Rentoul, Charles Armstrong, and C.P. Blacker, all of whom advocated on behalf of racist eugenics.\u00a0 The racist opinions of these men greatly impacted Britain\u2019s overwhelming fear of miscegenation.\u00a0 When describing the extremist eugenicists, Stone states, \u201cAlthough these were extremists, there were too many of them, and their views were not so far removed from those of the mainstream ideas on race\u201d (99).\u00a0 Eugenicists also upheld the belief that Britain was not concerned with race, but only class eugenics.\u00a0 This ideal was promoted to ameliorate Britain\u2019s image in terms of the eugenics.\u00a0 Contrary to popular belief, the history of inter-war Britain was far more racist than many people care to realize, and this is due in large part to various racist eugenicists.<\/p>\n
In \u201cNational Taste? Citizenship Law, State Form, and Everyday Aesthetics in Modern France and Germany, 1920-1940,\u201d Leora Auslander addresses the nation-state from various viewpoints, and how citizens and groups are impacted by state policies\u2014specifically pertaining to Jews in France and Germany.<\/p>\n
While France aimed to create a more central government, and encouraged all its citizens to emulate French culture, Germany allowed its citizens to have much more independence, as it had recently merged twenty-two monarchies and three republics.\u00a0 In response to these cultural guidelines, French and German Jews responded appropriately; French Jews chose to adhere \u201cto a common, distinctively French culture,\u201d while German Jews focused less on remaining civilized (123).\u00a0 This is significant, because both the French Jews and the German Jews felt obligated to accurately represent their country, as a means of national identity.<\/p>\n
Both Stone and Auslander describe the issue of national identity, through eugenics and everyday cultural expectations.\u00a0 However, both arguments are similar because they depict the hysteria that can surround one nation\u2019s self-image.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Breeding Superman, Dan Stone aims to describe and resolve the confusion that still surrounds eugenics in inter-war Britain.\u00a0 Many people are under the impression that the study of eugenics in Britain was based primarily on class, and was less … Continue reading