How far have we really come?

Eugenics, defined as a science aimed at improving the human race through controlling reproduction, is a concept generally associated with the horrors of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, this disturbing practice has a history in the United States, with a Eugenics Research Institution existing on Long Island between 1910 and 1930s, the period considered the peak of the nation’s embrace of eugenics.

“Haunted Files: The Eugenics Record Office”, on view from October 3 until March 13 2015, recreates the Long Island eugenics research office within the Asian/Pacific/American institute at NYU. The exhibition is presented as an office space, described as an “immersive installation”, which visitors can engage with by flipping through files, opening desk drawers, and perusing the books littered around the space. More than 4,000 original files are reproduced, allowing viewers access to the authentic, yet troubling, findings of the research facility. Haunting case studies, posters, and other examples of propaganda promoting the supposed science decorate the office, adding to the overall chilling experience of the setting, complete with recorded sounds creating an even darker ambience.

In a side room next to the recreated office, additional materials, statistics, and electronic resources supplement the set-like exhibition and serve to form additional connections, reaching to modern day.

The associate curator, Mark Putterman, explained that this particular exhibit and work with eugenics was aimed at,“…trying to sort of unearth a history that is not talked about very much in American society.” Putterman believes that, “Similar biases, but coded in different language, continue to influence American society…” The exhibit informs about disturbing beliefs that have been antiquated, while reminding viewers to keep in mind that these ideas may not be that distant from today’s politics.