Good Breeding: Science and Society in a Darwinian Age (Open University Course A426) (review)

James Moore. Good Breeding: Science and Society in a Darwinian Age (Open University Course A426). Study Guide, Offprints Collection, and Project Guide. Milton Keynes, U.K.: Open University, 2001. Study Guide: 193 pp.; Offprints Collection: 250 pp.; Project Guide: 22 pp. No price given (paperbound). (Available from: Open University Worldwide Ltd, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK (tel: 44-1908-858793; fax: 44-1908-858787; e-mail: ouw-customer-services@open.ac.uk.)

James Moore has prepared a splendid study guide and offprint collection for this Open University course. It is highly recommended as a teaching resource for historians interested in Darwinism, the history of genetics, and the history of the eugenics movement in particular. The course is a history of eugenics seen against the background of British interest in breeding, and is therefore focused on the British context. Beginning in the 1790s, the course material moves through discussion of human-animal relations, Darwin's theory of evolution, changing views of heredity in their social context, the rise of the eugenics movement and its consequences, the reasons for the shift in the eugenics program before and after the Second World War, and the relationship between eugenics and family policies in the 1960s. Overall, the course emphasizes the continuing importance of eugenic ideas in modern society and encourages students to use historical analysis to think critically about contemporary issues in genetics. Although the course is not about modern genetic engineering, the final reading, by Evelyn Fox Keller, makes the connection to the human genome project.

The illustrated study guide provides discussion of the secondary literature as well as of primary sources, offering sophisticated analysis of different historical and sociological perspectives. The writing is lively and engaging. There are excellent suggestions on how to approach the readings and how to develop the essay assignments and project that are required for the course. These guides will be particularly valuable to new teachers, but even experienced teachers will gain insights into how to introduce students to these texts. The companion volume of offprints is a mix of primary documents—such as excerpts from Darwin, Galton, and Fisher—and a good selection of essays from historians of science and medicine. Students are asked to purchase books by Harriet Ritvo, Daniel Kevles, and Richard Soloway; these authors are therefore not included in the excerpted readings. The guide includes an ample bibliography, as well as a guide to British libraries, archives, and relevant research collections.