The Department of History of Science and Ideas, Uppsala University, invites applications to the course ”Histories of Scientific Racism” (7.5 credits), to be taught on campus in Uppsala during Autumn term 2023. Master’s and PhD students from the historical disciplines and beyond are welcome to apply. Any questions about the course can be addressed to the course coordinator Petter Hellström (petter.hellstrom@idehist.uu.se) or to the Director of Studies for advanced level Orsi Husz (orsi.husz@idehist.uu.se). Teachers on the course include Sven Widmalm and Linda Andersson Burnett.

Histories of Scientific Racism, 7.5 credits

Advanced course offered by the Department of History of Science and Ideas, Uppsala University, Autumn 2023 (period 1)

This advanced course, open to students at the master’s or doctoral level, examines the historical development of scientific racism from the 18th century to the first half of the 20th century. The overarching purpose is to investigate how the ideas and practices of scientific racism have been constructed and developed over time, both in relation to the more general history of science, and to social processes of profound importance to the history of scientific racism, including colonialism and imperialism, the institutionalisation and abolishment of slavery, secularisation and the enlightenment, nationalism and democratisation.

The expression “scientific racism” is not limited, in this context, to race biology, but is used more broadly to denote attempts at applying scientific methods to divide humankind into distinct groups, and to decide the characteristics of those groups in relation to one another. The course is chronologically and thematically organised into a series of modules, which range from the emergence of the concept of race within 18th-century natural history, to the enactment of race in early 20th-century genetics and eugenics. Particular emphasis is afforded to the early history of scientific racism, the religious legacy, and the interplay between different fields of enquiry, including natural history and biology, philology, anthropology, archaeology, and medicine. The reading and analysis of primary sources is a central feature of the course.

The course consists of lectures and seminars; it is examined by way of written assignments and by active participation in the seminars. The language of instruction is English. We welcome applicants from the historical disciplines and beyond, including the medical and biological sciences.

Course details are available in the Uppsala University course catalogue, and applications can be filed at universityadmissions.se. PhD students are encouraged to write directly to the course coordinator.

Please note that this is a historical course about racism. While we will not tolerate expressions in support of racist or otherwise prejudiced opinions, applicants are advised that the nature of the course means course participants will be exposed to deeply offensive materials as a part of their study.