Public engagement with eugenics in the academy exhibitions and events across HE institutions

Abstract

This collective report details the authors’ engagement with the legacies of eugenics through curating exhibitions and events at higher education institutions and museums in the UK and abroad. It details the practical experiences of uncovering and exploring historical eugenic affiliations among influential figures such as Francis Galton and William Beveridge and the challenges faced in addressing these legacies within institutional contexts, specifically University College London (UCL), the London School of Economics (LSE), the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Psychological Society. The authors, who are also the curators of exhibitions on the history of eugenics, highlight collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches drawing on archival collections, public programming, and responses from epistemic communities engaged with the topic. Rather than being an academic text, this piece reflects on the complex, evolving dialogue around reckoning with eugenics in public history and its relevance today through curatorial practice and collective personal reflection