Eugenics and Education in America

The Author: Ann Gibson Winfield is Assistant Professor of Historical and Philosophical Foundations at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. She received her Ph.D. in educational foundations, research, and leadership, with a concentration in curriculum studies from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

«This is one of the best books on eugenics and education. By drawing from a range of disciplines, making visible the many fields affected by the false claims of the eugenicists, Ann Gibson Winfield shows how many of the assumptions underlying public education have been drawn from eugenics. Children have been sorted out, tracked, and measured on bell curves by educators believing themselves to be fair and democratic largely because of the way the principles of eugenics have been internalized. This book makes painfully clear how what are taken to be values can overwhelm what are known to be truths. It is, moreover, readable and exciting, as accounts of explorations ought to be.» (Maxine Greene, Professor of Philosophy and Education (Emeritus), Teachers College, Columbia University)«As the scourge of eugenics once again haunts us, Ann Gibson Winfield’s work is not just timely, it is urgent. This highly theorized and well-researched book frames, historicizes, and politicizes this curious and threatening movement as few have.…An informative, well-crafted, fascinating, and accessible volume. This will surely be a defining work in the field.» (William H. Watkins, Author of ‘The White Architects of Black Education’)