The report into UCL’s historical associations with Eugenics is published today. The Inquiry has been running for more than a year, but has proved to be beset with problems 1/n
… to the extent that 9 members of the committee have refused to sign the official report, and have produced their own recommendations 2/n. bit.ly/2wWtZDh
I, along with dozens of others, provided expert testimony to the Inquiry, about the history of eugenics, the scientific and cultural legacies of people like Galton and Pearson, and the current teaching in UCL about this pernicious history. 3/n
However, I see little evidence that much of those testimonies were referred to in the official report, which contains many factual errors, both historical and scientific 4/n
And by omission, it fails to acknowledge to the leviathan work and scholarship that the Genetics department at UCL bears about its own history, most significantly under Steve Jones, and also that of @profjoecain. 5/n
It also does not address the so-called London Conferences on Intelligence held on UCL premises, which was part of its brief, and a part of the instigation of this Inquiry. 6/n
These were the meetings featuring the usual cranks, racists, and other fringe oddball bores, Richard Lynn, the Mankind Quarterly pretend scientists, as well as Andrew Sabisky, Noah Carl, and was organised by a former honorary fellow 7/n
Why this is absent from the report is unknown. I touched on this here (£) 8/n bit.ly/2TqCUo3
This is an important, and emotive topic, and the conversations during the process were sometimes difficult and fractious. UCL is a university founded on radical principles, and it is right and proper that we confront our history square on. 9/n
This is an ongoing conversation, and we must be honest, robust and precise in making UCL and the rest of the FE sector welcoming and fit for all. 10/n
It won't stop at renaming buildings, which I think is right and proper. Structural prejudice is part of our legacy, and that will only be fixed with radical and comprehensive policy change that befits UCL's scholarly, radical and progressive reputation. 11/n
To be continued...
Follow @profjoecain @littlegaudy @mt_genes for more expertise on Galton, Pearson, genetics, eugenics and the whole shebang. 12/n bit.ly/2wWtZDh
Follow @profjoecain @littlegaudy @mt_genes for more expertise on Galton, Pearson, genetics, eugenics and the whole shebang. 12/n bit.ly/2wWtZDh
@profjoecain @littlegaudy @mt_genes I missed out 4/n:
However, I see little evidence that much of those testimonies were referred to in the official report, which contains many factual errors, both historical and scientific.
However, I see little evidence that much of those testimonies were referred to in the official report, which contains many factual errors, both historical and scientific.
@profjoecain @littlegaudy @mt_genes And here is the Provost's report, which it should be noted has become a minority report given that the majority of the Committee did not sign it 14/13
bit.ly/3ag9Eau
bit.ly/3ag9Eau
The plot thickens. The LCI report is released, but is very slight and fully redacted for names. Which everyone knows anyway and is on the public domain. All the race wienies. ucl.ac.uk/provost/sites/…
