Overview
Initial Post:
Option #1: Explain how you see topics that are covered in this week's readings/video such as Scientific Racism, Eugenics, Body Culture, or Disability surface in contemporary pop culture (comics, gaming, sports, amusement parks, music, toys, fashion, magazines, popular books, film/TV, etc.). 200 word minimum.
Or
Option #2: Explain what three things from this week's material surprised you, and why. 200 word minimum. (you can choose one of this options to write, whichever is easier for you) Reply to one of your peers' initial posts. Pay attention to their posts and engage meaningfully with the substance of what they wrote. For example, if one of their observations surprises you, ask yourself why, then write to your peer about it (politely). If you realize that you have something in common, let your peer know! Share ideas and feedback that contribute something new to the discussion. This reply should be 100 words minimum. Here is the classmates post: "Hello everyone,
Option #2: Explain what three things from this week's material surprised you, and why.
1. First and foremost, I was surprised to find out that David Starr Jordan, who was the first president of Stanford and a renowned eugenicist, sponsored organizations that propagated racist science and forced sterilization. I could not imagine that a university president could support policies that cause damage to colored and disabled people or help to establish networks that spread such policies throughout educational institutions or laws (Stanford Eugenics History Project).
2. Second, I did not know the extent of California's contribution to sterilization; the state brutally sterilized approximately 20,000 people. Most of them were of Mexican heritage and often labeled "feeble-minded". It was interesting to read that Nazi officials were given access to HBF's (Human Betterment Foundation) model laws and statistics and that American polices affected Germany's racial hygiene laws. Now, I no longer consider Holocaust as separate from the history of America (What is Eugenics?; American Eugenics and the Holocaust).
3. Last but not least, the explanation of race astonished me as well. Since my very childhood I was taught that race was a biological factor. However, according to the provided materials, contemporary science interprets race as a social notion rather than a biological term, and racism still has a huge negative impact on people's lives. In the past, "race science" established fake categorizations and tied them to value and attitude. Those claims impacted structures, including immigration legislation, laws and everyday bias irrespective of the fact that they are inaccurate. Even though race is social construct, its ramifications remain real (Social and Scientific Conceptions of Race)."