Ben Aronson
Professor, Department Co-Chair
Dates
Arrival in Salzburg - May 2nd, 2025
Departure from Salzburg housing - May 28, 2025 (mandatory)
Enrollment limit
15 students
Course fee
$1400
Included in course fee
Room for the entire term, food (Monday breakfast through Thursday lunch, and dinners Monday through Wednesday), orientation to Salzburg, two field trips (Mauthausen (concentration camp) and Schloss Harthiem) and iNext International Health Insurance.
Beyond course fee
Travel to and from Salzburg, Austria (est. cost $1000), public transportation costs, meals not included (est. cost $480), passport (if do not already have one), ETIAS visa waiver fee (est. cost $10), cell phone plan (est. cost $25) and souvenirs.
Course Description
Since the European definition of race animated discussions of biology in the 19th century, scientists have studied race and used race as a classification system. Through reading of historical documents, and contemporary analyses, as well as video source material, we will examine how scientists have studied and used the concept of race. An emphasis will be on how ideas about race and eugenics were exchanged between Europe and the US. The field trips will show the height of harm caused by commitments to eugenics, an idea that was born in the US and then taken up in Europe.
Applicable LAIs
The course will emphasize quantitative methods used by scientists and thus fulfill the QRE LAI requirement. Students will also see how politics and science interact to lead to the justification of social inequalities and so the course also fulfills the CPI LAI requirement.