This curriculum unit, designed by Eve Galanis, a social studies teacher, historian, and artist based in New Haven, Connecticut, explores the history and enduring impact of the American eugenics movement. This unit emphasizes how eugenics influences photography, music, and cultural life. Originally created for a Digital Storytelling course, the unit is intentionally broad and adaptable for U.S. history, Black and Latino studies, ethnic studies, genocidal studies, visual art, theater, or music classes.The curriculum challenges the misconception that eugenics was a fringe or outdated pseudoscience, instead situating it as a central force in shaping 20th-century education, aesthetics, and social hierarchies. It highlights how eugenicists weaponized ideas of heredity, perfection, talent, and ability to enforce racial and social hierarchies, while also emphasizing the tradition of resistance; the anti-eugenic art, music, and cultural practices that countered these ideologies.
Students begin with a historical overview, analyzing primary and secondary sources, and examining how photography and music were used to promote eugenic ideals. They then turn to examples of anti-eugenic media, such as W.E.B. Du Bois’s photography and politically charged music of the Civil Rights and anti-colonial eras, to see how communities resisted cultural erasure and redefined artistic value. The unit culminates in a student-designed digital storytelling project that critiques eugenic legacies and creates liberatory alternatives.
(Developed for Digital Storytelling, grades 10-12; recommended for Black and Latino Studies, U.S. History, World History, and Ethnic Studies, grades 9-12)
