Faculty presenter: Dr. John Slattery (Duquesne, Grefenstette Center of Ethics).

Topic: Eugenics Past, Present, and Future: Dangerous Intersections of Race, Science, and Technology

What is eugenics, why did it become so popular, and why does it still matter today? Eugenics went from being one of the most popular scientific and political movements in the early 20th century to a forbidden word in the 1960 and 70s. Did eugenics really disappear? What parts continue to live on today, and why does this matter in conversations of racism and technology? In this talk, Dr. John Slattery, Director of the Grefenstette Center for Ethics in Science, Technology, and Law at Duquesne University, will delve into the historical intersections of race, science, and technology in the 19th and 20th centuries. Dr. Slattery will offer a vision of eugenics that marks it as a corrosive combination of racism, cultural progressivism, and evolutionary theory that is still very much alive today. He will conclude with an ethical vision for science and technology that seeks to counteract the forces at the heart of a eugenic vision.