Eugenics movements gained momentum throughout Eastern Europe between World Wars I and II. Maria Bucur demonstrates that the importance of the eugenics movement in Romania rests not so much in the contributions made to the study of science as in the realm of nationalist ideology and social policy making. The notion that the quality and quantity of the human species could and should be controlled manifested itself through social engineering projects ranging from reshaping gender roles and isolating ethnic undesirables to ...
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Eugenics movements gained momentum throughout Eastern Europe between World Wars I and II. Maria Bucur demonstrates that the importance of the eugenics movement in Romania rests not so much in the contributions made to the study of science as in the realm of nationalist ideology and social policy making. The notion that the quality and quantity of the human species could and should be controlled manifested itself through social engineering projects ranging from reshaping gender roles and isolating ethnic undesirables to introducing broad public health measures and educational reform. Romanian eugenicists sought to control such modernization processes as urbanization and industrialization without curbing them, yet they also embraced attitudes more typically identified with anti-modernists in Romanian politics and culture. Bucur is the first historian to explore the role of eugenics as a response to the challenges of nation- and state-building in Eastern Europe. She presents a balanced assessment of the interwar eugenics movement\u2019s success and failures and identifies connections and discontinuities between the movement and the post-war communist regime.
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Seller's Description:
Good. HARD COVER EDITION. No dust jacket. Scuffs and knocks to edge of cover. Name stamp on first page. Highlighting and annotations throughout but doesn't affect reading. Contents very good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 304 p. Contains: Illustrations, black & white, Frontispiece. Russian and East European Studies.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in very good jacket. 2002. First edition. Hardcover, 8vo. in dust jacket. 298pp. Very good in very good dust jacket. Price sticker on dust jacket, wear to spine ends. Contents unmarked.
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Seller's Description:
New. 0822941724. *** FREE UPGRADE to Courier/Priority Shipping Upon Request ***-*** IN STOCK AND IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT-BRAND NEW, FLAWLESS COPY, NEVER OPENED--298 pages. "...Maria Bucur sheds new light on eugenics in Eastern Europe by focusing on Romania during the period between World Wars I and II. She demonstrates how Romanian eugenicists helped change the concepts of social organization and reform, of public health and education, of the role of science in generating social reform, of women's roles, and of the state's responsibility for social welfare. Bucur also illustrates their role in generating important public health legislation, from the broad-based Moldovan Law of 1930 and the legalized abortion in cases based on eugenic criteria, to restrictive measures and pressures placed on Romanian military and government officials against miscegenation. But perhaps the Romanian eugenicists' most significant role was in introducing and popularizing eugenic culture. Their rhetoric helped shape public debates on the relationship between individuals and the state and contributed to the destabilization of the nation's fledgling political life. This was far different from similar eugenic movements in the Western world. In France, Germany, England, and the United States-industrialized countries with a well-defined sense of national identity-eugenics addressed perceived social and health crises such as overpopulation of the poor, the rise of squalor in large cities, and the spread of such diseases as tuberculosis. In the more rural country of Romania, proponents of eugenics engaged in the politics of nation-building, and their rhetoric focused on the problems common to a rural, agricultural economy. Romanian eugenicists placed an emphasis on modernizing the state, especially evidenced in Iuliu Moldovan's influential work Biopolitica, as well as on expanding the state's control in social welfare, public health, and other public activities proposed by eugenicists. Bucur's interpretation of eugenics in interwar Romania raises issues relevant to today's scientific culture. Should the modern welfare state regulate the lives and reproductive rights of its citizens? Are modernization, social organization, and progress facilitated in any way by eugenics? Scientists and policymakers continue to ask questions similar to those posed by Romanian eugenicists a half-century ago. With this book, Bucur sets the stage for an intellectual dialogue with other historians, scientists, and policymakers."--with a bonus offer--
