Eugenics in the Yale Peabody Museum’s HST gallery
Sarah*, a recent graduate, shares an update on the AECY’s participation in a focus group for the Yale Peabody Museum’s History of Science and Technology gallery.
*Sarah Laufenberg ‘23 (she/her) is a recent graduate of Yale University with a BA in the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health.
In May 2023, curators at the Yale Peabody Museum (YPM) reached out to the AECY regarding an opportunity to consult on a gallery case relating to eugenics at Yale.*
The Yale Peabody Museum is currently closed for renovation but will be reopening in 2024 with new galleries, such as the History of Science and Technology (HST) gallery. Evidently, the gallery will include a case about Eugenics at Yale with physical items and historical/informational descriptions. The curators and divisional staff asked a selection of people from the Anti-Eugenics Collective to partake in a focus group on “Eugenics in the HST gallery.”
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On May 24th, our group (composed of Professors Daniel Martinez HoSang and Marco Ramos; Yale graduating seniors Emme Magliato, Sarah Laufenberg, and Larissa Jimenez-Grateaux; and student at Wilbur Cross High School and incoming Yale student Elias Theodore) met with several people from the YPM:
Natasha Ghazali: Interpretation Manager, Exhibitions
Alexi Baker: Collections Manager, History of Science & Technology
Paola Bertucci: Curator-in-charge, History of Science & Technology
As part of the focus group, we were invited to discuss how a small selection of objects connected to Robert Yerkes were to be displayed and interpreted on the related labels accompanying the case’s arrangement.
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We took the weeks following our May meeting to compile our collective feedback on the gallery. Our main comments emphasized the importance for the case to convey that Yale itself was a major center for producing eugenic knowledge – one that involved administrators, professors, and alumni in research, legislation, and advocacy that ultimately supported involuntary sterilization and anti-immigration laws. Yale affiliates who created metrics for ‘fitness’ (like intelligence) and tools like testing and observational equipment did so to assert the authority and legitimacy of eugenic renderings/interpretations of knowledge.
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We look forward to seeing if the case is as illuminating and precise in its presentation as we know it can be! Their finalized gallery is forthcoming to the public in 2024.
*The results of the gallery do not represent the opinions of the AECY, as we were not responsible for creating or curating the text or items.