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I am very happy—indeed, keen—to supervise a wide range of topics related to the history of race and science, broadly construed. I am happy to supervise on dissertations covering any country or region. If you have an idea of a topic, please drop me an email and we can discuss how best to approach it.

Please see below for a few potential areas of research that I believe would make good dissertation topics. But you are by no means restricted to these. If you have your own idea, which I encourage, please suggest it.

If you have specific language skills you would like to use in your dissertation, I can also advise on that.

Potential Dissertation Areas

• History of eugenics.
• History of anthropology.
• History of genetics.
• History of racial psychology.
• Histories of resistance to scientific racism.
• History of museum collections related to racial science, such as skull or anatomical collections.
• History of racial science in postcolonial states.
• History of racial science and slavery.
• History of racial science and immigration regimes.
• History of racial science and visual culture (photography, painting, sketches, video).
• History of racial science and computing (inc. the Internet, facial recognition, and artificial intelligence).

Previous Dissertation Topics

Below are a few titles of previous undergraduate dissertations related to the history of race and science, to give you an idea of what can be done:

• The Pursuit of a ‘Wellborn’ Nation: Eugenics, Politics, and Public Policy in Great Britain (1940-1980)
• Transnational Eugenics in Britain: An Analysis of the Relationships Between the British Eugenics Society, Nazi Party and American Eugenics Movement (1930-1939)

Archival Collections (UK)

The following archives contain manuscript material related to the history of race and science.

You might also want to search using , which searches across a selection of major UK archives.

– UK government records (typically excluding India).

– personal papers, manuscripts, and India Office records.

– the archives of the UK’s scientific academy, mainly records relating to the institution itself as well as personal papers of many prominent scientists.

– major collection of manuscripts related to history of science (particularly health sciences and biological sciences). NB. Search the filter by ‘Format’ and select ‘ Archives and Manuscripts’).

– major collection of manuscripts, objects, and books relating to science in Britain from nineteenth century to today.

– main British academy dedicated to geography, including surveying, exploring, and mapping.

– broad collection of archival material related to British Empire inc. anthropology and photography.

– collection of material related to the history of anthropology, particularly personal papers of British anthropologists

– vast collection of papers related to the university, including papers of anthropologists and psychologists.

– vast collection of papers related to the university, including papers of anthropologists and psychologists.

Other smaller archives may contain material of use, depending on your topic. Let me know and I can advise.

Archival Collections (Digital)

- a vast archive covering both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, containing material related to the history of science and technology in Britain and the British Empire.

– contains an enormous amount of fully digitised archival material related to the history of medicine and the biological sciences . (Search filter using ‘Online’ and ‘Archives and Manuscripts’).

– a selection of digitised archival material related to individuals and institutions associated with the university, including genetics and the Institute of Archaeology.

– a somewhat limited (but expanding) selection of digitised archival material held at the Royal Society

– major collection related to science and technology in the United States.

– another major collection related to science and technology, mainly in the United States.

– digitised collections of papers held at Cambridge.

– digitised collection of major research centre associated with genetics including leading geneticists such as James Watson and Sydney Brenner.

– contains digitised records (filter search) of the Rockefeller Center, major American funder of scientific research globally.

and - a significant portion of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization archive is available online, as well as documents and publications.

Printed Materials (Digital)

If you need to access a printed primary source, the best places to search for a digital copy are:

(NB. It is worth registering as you can sometimes digitally ‘borrow’ a book for free that is otherwise inaccessible.)

Otherwise, use the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Library inter-library loan service.