Senior Thesis written by Dora Guo ‘23

“The Institute of Human Relations at Yale was established in 1929 to facilitate interdisciplinary research concerned with the “knowledge and control of human nature.” While much has been said about the Institute’s role in pioneering collaboration between Yale College, the Graduate School, the School of Law, and the Medical School, little attention has been given to the Institute’s eugenic origins and aims. This thesis uncovers the eugenic logics that undergirded the Institute of Human Relations at Yale, its research goals, and educational practices. Situated at the intersection of ethnic studies and the history of science, medicine, and public health, this thesis explores how Yale concealed the language of eugenics in the 1930s at the same time the institution continued to sustain and uplift notions of hierarchical biological difference.”