商品簡介
In this study of the eugenics movement in Twentieth-century Virginia Dorr (law, jurisprudence and social thought, Amherst College) reaches far beyond the regional and historical topic to its implications for the present world. Beginning with the belief, prevalent throughout history, that "quality" was genetic, Dorr demonstrates how this was used to justify the treatment of Africans and Native Americans, as well as the perpetual legal childhood of women. In Virginia, the growth of the biological science of eugenics proved a modern confirmation of beliefs that allowed for segregation, forced sterilization of the mentally handicapped and some prisoners, laws against miscegenation and the superiority of a white elite. Dorr makes the allure of this belief clear as well as the rationale for this. The desire to improve human beings, both in terms of health and intelligence, is behind most of our medicine and education. Through this specific and very recent history, Door points out what a thin tightrope we are walking today. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
作者簡介
Gregory Michael Dorr is Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought, Amherst College.
