Call for Papers

Eugenics, Race and Psychiatry in the Baltic States: A Trans-National Perspective
An International Conference
7 – 8 May 2009
Riga, Latvia

The history of eugenics in the Baltic States is largely unknown. Eugenics is not simply an appendix to the history of medicine; it is an important factor in understanding key moments of the turbulent history of the twentieth century. This conference will compare the eugenic projects of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and the related disciplines of racial anthropology and psychiatry and situate them within their European context. The aim of the conference is to bring together scholars from the Baltic States and elsewhere to discuss different aspects of eugenics and forms of scientific transfer relating the three countries. Themes to be covered are:

- Eugenics: eugenic movements; eugenics as national science; institutes of eugenic research; eugenic movements of minorities
- Racial Anthropology: National racial research, racial research in multiethnic context
- Psychiatry: Psychiatric therapies; Psychiatry as a “national hygiene”; Racial Psychiatry
- Scientific transfer in terms of Eugenics: from USA/Western Europe/Scandinavia to the Baltic States/ to other Middle Eastern European States; from the Baltic States to Russia; scientific transfer and communication; Eugenic and scientific networks and organizations

A preliminary version of the paper will distributed to all participants in advance. The presentation of the paper should not exceed 20 minutes, so that sufficient time is allocated for discussion. It is the intention of the organizers to publish the final versions of the papers. The working languages of the workshop will be English. The workshop will be held at the Goethe Institute Riga, Latvia. The organizers will offer board and accommodation and cover part of the travel expenses.
The conference is being organized by the International Workgroup on the History of Racial Science and Biomedicine in Central and Southeast Europe (RSCSE), the Oxford Brookes University, the Nordost-Institut in Lüneburg, Germany, the Goethe-Institute Riga, Latvia, and the Centre for Science Studies of the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.

Please send your abstract (250-300 words) and a short CV to Dr. des. Björn Felder (bj.felder@googlemail.com) no later than 1 February 2009.