Race mixing—particularly between Blacks and whites—alarmed American eugenicists in the early 20th century. Charles B. Davenport, one of the nation’s leading eugenicists, was so preoccupied by race mixing that he published two studies on people of Black and white ancestry—a class of people he concluded was “badly put together” and “ineffective.” These two studies serve as points of entry for examining early 20th-century efforts to define people of African descent as inherently unfit.

During this presentation, Rana Hogarth, associate professor in the Department of History, will draw attention to the ways anti-Blackness and slavery-era ideas about race informed scientific knowledge production. She will demonstrate how early 20th century attempts to measure, objectify, and pathologize mixed race individuals with Black and white ancestry rendered Blackness an unfavorable trait in white eugenic discourses and beyond.

The LAS Dean’s Distinguished Lecture series provides an opportunity for members of the LAS community and the broader campus community to hear from some of the college’s most distinguished faculty and alumni. For more information, visit las.illinois.edu/research/deanslecture

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