Representations of the medical-eugenic discourse about progeny: mendelist eugenics in the doctoral theses of the Medicine and Surgery College of São Paulo [Faculdade de Medicina e Cirurgia de São Paulo] in the 1920s

Abstract

Eugenics represented a movement of great repercussion by the end of 19th century, which intended to improve and enhance human species, including actions of education and restrictions to reproduction, contributing to the foundation of order and civility, based on progress and on moral and physical superiority of individuals. This article aims to present and discuss elements extracted from doctoral theses of the Medicine College of the University of São Paulo (Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo) in the 1920s, specifically related to the theme of mendelist eugenics from the point of view of that period’s scientific production. The chosen span represents a moment of great influence of medicine in society, because of actions of control and normalization of individuals, influenced by eugenic theories. The doctoral theses represent the beginning of the College’s student production and contain influences from theories in vogue of the period - evolutionist, positivist and eugenic theories. Eight doctoral theses were selected for presentation in this article, and they were analyzed from the concept of representation as document reading technique. In these theses, one can observe the concern of the authors with the formation of eugenic descent, defending the establishment of measures such as restriction to marriages, prenuptial medical examination and, in some cases, compulsory sterilization.