During the first half of the twentieth century, eugenics, or the idea that communities could "improve" the "human race" by selectively determining who could have children, was bolstered by - and, in turn, reinforced - racist, ableist, and xenophobic ideas. The Eugenics Archives, written and maintained by a large team of Canadian and American scholars, researches the history and contemporary significance of eugenics in Western Canada. One of the major strengths of this project is how well it illustrates the many ways that eugenics was at once a social, legal, and academic movement. On this website, one can explore an encyclopedia of key concepts from the eugenics movement, view an interactive map that illustrates how eugenics developed in individual countries, and learn about the Aboriginal Residential Schools that First Nations people were forced to attend. Visitors will also find a powerful collection of interviews with Canadians who survived forced sterilization. Although a difficult read at times, the Eugenics Archives provides a comprehensive and important examination of how eugenics was perpetuated and its lasting consequences.
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