# data[].attributes.body
This padlet is divided into topics that correspond to this week's slides and reading guide (posted on Canvas in the Week 11 box) for Tuesday's assigned reading.

As an individual, please post a short quote from the assigned reading this week (Banu Subramaniam's "Genealogies of Variation" excerpts, pages 45-52) that fits under the appropriate topic heading.  As always, make sure to identify the page number of the text where your quote comes from.  Then, add a 1-2 sentence explanation for why you chose that topic heading for this particular quote. Use the white plus sign under the heading you've chosen to add your post.  Please make sure your name is on the post so that you can get counted!

# data[].attributes.body
"Eugenic views were ultimately concerned with making a "good society". The political inclinations of the scientists shaped their vision of a good society and their views on the meaning and value of variation" (pg.48)

I chose this quote for this topic because I think it explicitly shows how eugenics started as a science with more social/political values. It really calls back to objectivity for me. These scientists allowed their political ideals to overpower their scientific objectivity and it led to eugenics being used for evil essentially.

-Nathan Gibson

# data[].attributes.body
"Politicians, activists, thinkers (including key biologists in out story), and philosophers used these theories to advocate for and shape social policy. It is not that the biologists did biological work and then used these theories to shape social policy. Rather, it is in the interest of social policy that much of the biological work was done" (49).

I chose this quote for this topic because it proves how those in high power within society, those in disciplines that were deemed high like philosophers and political figures, pushed for evolutionary biology with the intention of finding conformation on existing social ideas. There was no objectivity in the first place, there was only confirmation bias.
- Alexus Arrizon

# data[].attributes.body
"Eugenics is a critical site where scientific concerns about variation are converted into the politically inflected meaning of diversity and difference" (Page 48)

I specifically chose this quote because it was one of the key arguments that were listed that actually tended to make the most sense to me. I feel as if there is more to science than politics it goes past diversity and differences among humans as well. Because these scientists let their political convictions override their scientific neutrality, eugenics was effectively employed for bad.

- Hannah Hanson

# data[].attributes.body
Yanira Tapia (Yani)

Quote: “The shapes of the debates and history are largely contestations of social policies, that is, you cannot tell this story of evolutionary biology without the controversies in social policies.” Page 49

In school, students are taught about Dawrin’s scientific revolution but do not mention the cultural aspect of the conversation. The author also mentions Darwin’s biggest issues and his failures with evolutionary theories. This is important since in many historical textbooks Darwin is perceived as a heroic and genius person for his scientific discoveries when in reality he also had failures as a scientist.

# data[].attributes.body
“One cannot separate the biology from the social— the social is the constitutive of the biology. Others (including biologists) contested these theories and social policies. The shapes of the debates and history are largely contestations of social policy, that is, you cannot tell this story of evolutionary biology without the controversies in social policies.” (Pg.49)

I chose this quote because it confirms that biology is closely connected with social policies.  I think what this quote is trying to imply is that evolutionary biology is overall shaped by social policy. There cannot be evolutionary biology without the background of the social aspect.

Ania Castellanos

# data[].attributes.body
"Galton's eugenics was informed by the logic of Darwinism fused with a scientific narrative on improving society–this scientifically ground legacy is Galton's profound contribution, a legacy that lives on to this day" (52).

I chose this quote because I think it best highlights the connection between eugenics and evolutionary biology. Darwin's theory of natural selection allowed Galton to try and manipulate evolution in a manner that would "improve" society.
- Cindy Nguyen

# data[].attributes.body
“Eugenic views were ultimately concerned with making a "good society. The political inclinations of the scientists shaped their vision of a good
society and their views on the meaning and value of variation.”
I found this one interesting because we use science as a way to shape a society or some kind of utopia. Science is used in the classroom to already shape a children to make good societies starting with them.
-Raquel Vasquez

# data[].attributes.body
"Rather, as Foucault suggests, this exploration reveals how power has fundamentally shaped truth claims. Truth, as I hope will become clear, is not easily apparent and 'comes to be' through the complex workings of power." (page 47-48)

I chose this quote for this heading because we often see that people in power try to mask the truth of science. An example I can think about is Donald Trump using his power as being a former President of the U.S. and telling the public that vaccines are bad, specifically for children. He uses his power to mask the truth of how helpful science can be.

- Marisol Arellano

# data[].attributes.body
"Two critical influences from classical economics significantly shaped Darwin's theory: Thomas Mathus and Adam Smith (Schweber 1978)" (50).

I chose this quote because it names the two influences that impacted Darwin's perspective of variation. Although the theories of the original influencers differed from Darwin's theories, they were somewhat of a foundation that Darwin built off of.
-Alia Sider

# data[].attributes.body
“In addition to eugenics, Galton also coined another famous phrase, nature and nurture.

Galton had a clear position in the debate. He was convinced that it was nature and not nurture that determined hereditary ability.” (Pg.52)

I chose this quote because it explains how Galton emphasized a relationship between a person and nature rather than nurture. Galton studied the idea that a person obtains his or her personality from their genes and not the community or surroundings.

- Elizabeth Sanchez

# data[].attributes.body
Eugenics was without doubt an important and fundamental aspect of many
key movements in the past two centuries, intimately linked to ideologies of
race, nation, and sex, and also a part of several programmatic and institutional
initiatives, such as population control, social hygiene, state hospitals, and the
welfare state (46).
The part of the quote where it says “population control” and talking eugenics reminded me of the population control in China not to long about the the one child rule. The point of that was to control and regulate overpopulation. However, that rule has now affected the population today and I’ve heard that China now has a women shortage as woman were often disregarded when they born during this policy. Because that policy is no longer in effect, I believe action is being taken to repopulate the population with women.
- Chelsea Rojas

# data[].attributes.body
All evolutionary biologists engaged with eugenics as citizens, and their
political views and values profoundly shaped their "doing" of science (48).
I chose this quite because I feel like this quite represents what we have been discussing in class about how science is about trial and error and not about who’s smart. Any one can do science as long as the work and evidence is there. Scientists as citizens/people see the problem and try to come up with what they believe will be good.
-Chelsea Rojas

# data[].attributes.body
"Michael Ruse argues that 'Darwin's work came out of the culture of his day; it went back into the culture of his day' (Ruse 2005:6). Two critical influences from classical economics significantly shaped Darwin's theory: Thomas Malthus and Adam Smith. (Schweber 1978)" (Subramaniam, 49-50).

I chose this quote because it clearly highlights the two names that influenced Darwin in his thoughts on variation. The quote also shows that it was the culture that Darwin was living in way back then that shaped his work, just as scientists today are shaped by our culture now. This quote shows that scientists build off each other's findings and continue to add to an idea rather than never altering the original idea.
-Sydney Stanton :)

# data[].attributes.body
"Eugenics thus was less about a clear set of scientific principles, and more about a "modern" way to discuss social problems in biological and scientific terms; politicians and scientists of various political persuasions appropriated eugenic discourse to promote social policy under the guise of objective and apolitical language of science and the laws of nature" (Page 47).
I chose this quote for this topic because, despite their extensive histories, eugenics and even scientific racism are widely misunderstood. For example, the human genome was expected to be studied and sequenced in order to dispel popular myths about human biological distinctions. However, these misunderstandings linger, resulting in discrimination and bigotry in today's society (social concerns/values). Science's truth continues to be obscured. Because these politicians and scientists allowed their political beliefs to override their scientific neutrality, eugenics has been and continues to be used for terrible purposes.
-Adriana Alfaro

# data[].attributes.body
“Eugenic views were ultimately concerned with making a ‘good society.’ The political inclinations of the scientists shaped their vision of a good society and their views on the meaning and value of variation.” (Pg.48)

This quote means that ultimately Eugenic views create a good society where people can come together and bring different ideas to the table. The ideas or knowledge they provide are different which can help people expand their knowledge.

-Cinthia Rojas

# data[].attributes.body
"While eugenics has almost become interchangeable with racism, historically eugenics practices were broader, and in their global incarceration, often molded to serve national and local logics of class, caste, origins, geography, indigeneity, morality, and hierarchies of ability with categories such as 'feebleminded' and 'degeneracy'..." (46).

I feel that this quote demonstrates how valuable eugenics has been in social concerns and values because it has been used as a basis of documentation throughout the years. As mentioned, eugenics is deeply tied to racism and categorization. The categories may not be the same as those used in the past, but categories continue to exist. Structures do not exist without categories or hierarchies that break down a society's way of functioning, which is why eugenics continues being important in categorizing. It molds the way civilizations have made laws that are used to control or aid individuals pertaining to their own categories.

- Guadalupe Mota

# data[].attributes.body
“Eugenic views were ultimately concerned with making a “good society.” The political inclinations of the scientists shaped their vision of a good society and their views on the meaning and value of variation” (pg 48).

I chose this quote because this is concerning due to eugenics being the selection of desired heritable traits in order to improve society. This can be bias because everyone has different perspectives. Everyone has their own idea of right and wrong as well so what a good society means to someone can mean differently to someone else.

-Meleny Muralles

# data[].attributes.body
"Their goals were varied, as were their understandings of the relationship of biology, nature, and culture." (Pg. 47)
"A history of the concept of variation in evolutionary biology is simultaneously also a history of biologists' quest for a 'better' human society and the relationship of science and power." (Pg. 48)

I chose these two quotes because it reminds me of how many of the times as students we are just taught the 'basic' information. Meaning we don't always get the whole understanding of what the process was and how it relates to more than one concept. For us to understand what we are learning and what the process was we need to research the historical context.
-Yesenia Quinto

# data[].attributes.body
"The meaning of variation remains and will continue to be a recurring question within science and society" (48).

This quote reveals an interesting aspect of the history of science. When it comes to evolution the subject of variation is a grey area. Throughout this discussion, it is the cultural and societal differences that cause variation to be a subject of debate.

-Malia Apodaca

# data[].attributes.body
"Eugenics was, without doubt, an important and fundamental aspect of many key movements in the past two centuries, intimately linked to ideologies of race, nation, and sex, and also a part of several programmatic and institutional initiatives, such as population control, social hygiene, state hospitals, and the welfare state (Dikotter 1998)" (46).

I chose this quote because of words like "population control," "social hygiene," and "welfare state." I feel like all of these are related to social ideas. For example, in population control, some people see that there are too many people in this world. There was this hospital that cut women's tubes without them knowing because the hospital didn't want more people.
-
Jazmine Rodriguez

# data[].attributes.body
"Rather eugenics was often at the heart of of well-meaning scientists' attempts to translate  their biological research for human welfare." (46).
I chose this quote because I feel that the author is speaking on how racism was subconsciously implemented into science because they thought it was right and good. So, to me "well-meaning scientists" would share their thoughts and  ideas that would be very racist and yet they did not think so, or maybe it wasn't their intention.
- Erika Rivera

# data[].attributes.body
"we civilized men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, maimed, and the sick; we institute poor laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of everyone to the last moment... thus the weak members of civilized societies propagate their kind" (Subramaniam 50).

I chose this quote because clearly it is reflective of how Darwin believed that those who were more advanced in toolmaking would create more offspring and thus develop strong civilizations. Darwin argued that those who were not advanced toolmakers would produce weak offspring and contribute less to the civilizations. Darwin's beliefs still hold strong in science and scientist mirror his studies.
-Adrian Estrada

# data[].attributes.body
“ Two critical influencers from classical economics significantly shaped Darwin's theory: Thomas Mathus and Adam Smith” (Schweber).

I chose this quote because it names two very important influencers that impacted Darwin's perspective of variation.
- Adriana Tello