September 2021 marks 100 years of the Second International Eugenics Congress. Like our predecessors a century ago we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in the history of eugenics and genetics, where new technologies and biological interventions could well determine the ethical standards of tomorrow. Covid-19 has reminded us that eugenic ideas persist when it comes to prioritizing health care needs and vaccines around the globe.

Hosted by Dr. Erika Dyck, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, History of Health and Social Justice, and the History Department at the University of Saskatchewan.

Date

The event will take place virtually on Tuesday, June 15th starting at

Central Standard Time (CST) (Saskatoon) – 9:00
Eastern Daylight Time (Toronto): – 11:00
British Summer Time (London): – 16:00

Registration Link

Program

9:00 – 9:45(CST) Welcome, Introduction, and Tribute to Nick Supina III Dr. Erika Dyck (University of Saskatchewan) and Benedict Ipgrave

10:00 – 12:00(CST) Panel: Landscapes of Eugenics and Disability in Canada Chair: Dr. James Moran (University of Prince Edward Island)

“A kingdom dedicated to eternal children” Eugenic legacies of institutionalization and infantilization in the care of intellectual and developmental disabilities in twentieth-century Nova Scotia.
Leslie Digdon (Saint Mary’s University)

Vincent Auffrey (University of Toronto)
The Medical Certification of the “Unfit” and its Legacies: Stigma and Documentation in Ontario.

Shunning Eugenics: The Ambiguous Legacy of Positive Eugenics in Québec.

Filippo Sposini (University of Toronto)

‘The Better Eugenic Types’: Scientific Racism and the Histories of Immigration and Multiculturalism in Canada.
Daniel Meister (Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21)

12:00 – 12:30(CST) Break

12:30 – 13:20(CST) Exhibiting Eugenics Legacies Presenters: Evadne Kelly, Carla Rice, Aly Bailey and Seika Boye (Centre for Art and Social Justice, University of Guelph)

13:30 – 15:00(CST) Panel: Eugenics, Experiments and Canadian Indigenous History Chair: Dr. Kim Tallbear (University of Saskatchewan)

“The usual clinics”: Eugenic and Euthenic Economies, the Mi’kmaq, and the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School in Twentieth-Century Nova Scotia.
Courtney Mrazek (University of New Brunswick)

Between Nêhiyawîhckikêwin (Cree people) and Academia: Sîkîp Sâkahikanihk Âcimowina (Stories of Waterhen Lake) and the Making of a Community-Based Oral History Project
Christine Fiddler (University of Saskatchewan)

Mary Jane McCallum and Erin Millions (University of Winnipeg)

Elimination, White Supremacy and “Indian TB” in Manitoba, 1930s-1970s.

15:00 – 15:30(CST) Break

15:30 – 17:00(CST) Panel: Eugenics, Reproductive Justice, and Legacies of Birth Control Chair: Dr. Jan Gelech (University of Saskatchewan)

Elizabeth Koester (University of Toronto)

Conflicting Legacies: A.R. Kaufman – Eugenicist and Birth Control Pioneer.

Alana Catapan (University of Waterloo)

Theorizing Reproductive Regimes: Eugenics and Public Policy in Contemporary Canada.

Women’s Health, Liberation, and the Legacy of Eugenics: Studying 1970s Birth Control Activism in Alberta.
Karissa Patton (University of Saskatchewan)

17:00 – 17:15(CST) Concluding Remarks