Description
Book SynopsisAnalyzes the Italian case study with the intention of discussing several fundamental themes of the comparative history of eugenics: the importance of the Latin eugenic model; the relationship between eugenics and fascism; the influence of Catholicism on the eugenic discourse and the complex links between genetics and eugenics. Follows its theme up to the mid-1970s. The first part of the book analyses the process of the institutionalization of Italian eugenics: its scientific and cultural origins; the impact of the First World War and the debate after the war on the themes of birth control, premarital certification and sterilization. The second part examines the relationship between eugenics and fascism, particularly highlighting two aspects: in first place, the development by the Italian fascists of an alternative model of eugenics (Latin eugenics) that aimed to compete, on an international level, with the Nordic model; in second place, the interaction between different forms of eugenics and different currents of fascist racism (biological, nationalistic, esoteric-traditional). The third part explores Italian eugenics after the Second World War.
Trade Review"Cassata’s monograph is a long overdue and very welcome addition to the literature. It is an amalgamation of work that he has published in Italian—on Corrado Gini and related topics—and, significantly, an expansion of his Molti, sani e forti: L’eugenetica in Italia (Turin, 2006). Building the New Man is a serious and important study of an aspect of modern Italian history that remains relatively underresearched. New regional, national, and transnational case studies of eugenics in recent years have counterbalanced the Anglo-American and Nazi-centric bias in the historiography. Cassata’s book contributes exceedingly well to this ongoing and worthy project on global eugenics. The great strength of this work lies in the depth of its scholarship. Based on extensive archival research, his narrative shows great sensitivity to the plurality of approaches within Italian eugenics. Italian eugenics found a home not just in biomedicine, as was commonly the case, but also in the social sciences. The author rightly emphasizes that, despite this diversity, there was an overwhelming consensus of opinion within Italian medicine, science, and the state about the positive role that the environment, welfare, and society could play in engineering racial improvements over time. While accounts of eugenics more commonly stop in 1945, Cassata extends his chronological reach well into the 1960s. The wisdom of this choice is amply rewarded by that fact that he is thereby able to make a major contribution to one of the more interesting avenues of current scholarship on eugenics: that which is concerned to illuminate the relationship between the old and the new. Cassata examines the crucial issue of continuity in scientific and political discourses about race, and as he ably shows, the eugenetic project did not end with the fall of Fascism. No longer benefiting from Fascist state patronage, postwar Italian eugenics fell victim to discord and lost its relevance and purpose." * Journal of Modern History *
"The book's subtitle promises coverage of the twentieth century, though Cassata rewards the reader with treatment of the movement in the late nineteenth century. He does well to demonstrate the multidisciplinary character of eugenics, from its early days in Italy onward. Eugenics drew on the study of demography, biology, anthropology, law, statistics, economy, sociology and medicine. Central European University Press lists Building the New Man in its series on the history of medicine, though Cassata demonstrates that Italian eugenics owed its intellectual heritage to more than medicine. Cassata demonstrates that fascists were driven less by negative eugenics than one might have thought. Perhaps from Germany, Italy absorbed the use of sterilization sterilization, abortion and euthanasia to minimize the number of so-called degenerates. But not all fascists embraced these ideas. After World War II conflict arose between eugenicists who were racists and those who opposed racism. Tensions also arose between old-line eugenicists who favoured sterilization and abortion and Catholic eugenicists who favoured reproductive rights. Only after World War II did Italian eugenicists begin to co-opt the ideas of genetics to legitimize the movement, adding further credence to the insight that Italy was a latecomer to genetics." * Canadian Journal of History *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Between Lombroso and Pareto: the Italian way to eugenics 1.Lombroso's Way: the Problem of Degeneration 2. Pareto's Way: the Problem of the Elite 3. The Italian Committee of Eugenic Studies Chapter 2 Eugenics and dysgenics of war 1. The War as Counter-selection 2. The War as a Gymnasium 3. The War as a Laboratory Chapter 3 Regenerating Italy (1919-1924) 1. Ettore Levi and the IPAS Campaign for Birth Control 2. A Concrete Proposal: the Premarital Certificate 3. Sterilization and Euthanasia 4. The Work of the UselessA": Mental Hygiene in Italy Chapter 4 Quality through quantity: eugenics in fascist Italy 1. Corrado Gini's Hegemony: Demography and RegenerativeA" Eugenics Constitutionalism and Latin Eugenics: Nicola Pende's Biotypological Institute 3. Demography and Biotypology: the Laboratory of Statistics at Milan Catholic University Chapter 5 Eugenics and racism (1938-1943) 1. Biological Racism and Hereditarian Eugenics 2. Environmentalist Eugenics: Psychological and Anthropo-geographical Racism 3. Esoteric-traditionalist Racism and Eugenics-Julius Evola 4. Assortative Mating and Racism 5. Toward a National Genetic Centre Chapter 6 Toward a new eugenics 1. SIGE Schisms: Genetics against Eugenics 2. From Premarital Examination to Genetic Counselling 3. Eugenics and Catholic Medical Genetics: Luigi Gedda and the G. MendelA" Institute Chapter 7 Against UNESCO: Italian eugenics and American scientific racism 1. The IAAEE and The Mankind Quarterly (1959-1965) 2. Meticciato di Guerra: Luigi Gedda and Reginald Ruggles Gates 3. Corrado Gini and the Guerrilla WarA" against UNESCO 4. Epilogue: Race and Modern ScienceA" Conclusions Bibliography List of abbreviations for archive sources
