Uncivilised: race science and other lies that made the West
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16-18 Queen Square Bath BA1 2HN and live-stream
Registration
General Information
Civilisation is an analogue notion. For all the things that are civilised, there are – we are told – all the things and people that are uncivilised. This is particularly true of the ideas that make up Western civilisation. In this talk historian and writer Subhadra Das will combine histories of science with her own personal recollections of working as a museum curator to examine and question how the history of race science has and continues to shape our views of the West and ‘the rest’. Is it true that time is money? Who does the rule of law really protect? What even is ‘art’? And, at its heart, is the West as civilised as it claims?
Location: Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16-18 Queen Square Bath BA1 2HN and live-stream
Date: Thursday, 7th September 2023
Time: 19:30
When booking please select either ‘in-person attendance’ if you are expecting to attend the venue on the day, or ‘Online attendance’ if you are expecting to attend virtually.
Speakers:
Subhadra Das
is a historian and writer who looks at the relationship between science and society. She specialises in the history of scientific racism and eugenics, and what those histories mean for our lives today. For nine years, Subhadra was Curator of the Science Collections at University College London, where she was also a Researcher in Critical Eugenics at the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation. She has written and presented podcasts, curated museum exhibitions, done stand-up comedy and regularly appears on radio and TV – her first book (Un)Civilised: Ten Lies That Made The West – is due out in February 2024 and is available to preorder now.
