"Destined to Fail"
A little-known fact about the prominent US psychologist and educator Carl E. Seashore (1866–1949) is that he was deeply involved in the American eugenics movement. He was among the US academics to support eugenics long before German Nazis embraced it. A titan in a host of disciplines and a proponent...
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| Format: | Online |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
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Michigan State University Press
2026
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| Online-Zugang: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110781 |
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| _version_ | 1869519855826239488 |
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| author | Koza, Julia Eklund |
| author_browse | Koza, Julia Eklund |
| author_facet | Koza, Julia Eklund |
| author_sort | Koza, Julia Eklund |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | A little-known fact about the prominent US psychologist and educator Carl E. Seashore (1866–1949) is that he was deeply involved in the American eugenics movement. He was among the US academics to support eugenics long before German Nazis embraced it. A titan in a host of disciplines and a proponent of radical education reform, Seashore used his positional power to promote a constellation of education reforms consistent with central precepts of eugenics. Many of these reforms, including tracking, gifted and talented programs, and high-stakes standardized testing, were adopted and remain standard practice in the United States today. He promulgated the idea that musical talent is biologically inheritable, and he developed the first standardized tests of musical talent; these tests were used by early-twentieth-century researchers in their attempts to determine whether there are race differences in musical talent. Seashore’s ideas and work profoundly shaped music education’s research trajectory, as well as enduring “commonsense” beliefs about musical ability. An intersectional analysis, “Destined to Fail” focuses on the relationship between eugenics and Seashore’s views on ability, race, and gender. Koza concludes that Seashore promoted eugenics and its companion, euthenics, because he was a true believer. She also discusses the longstanding silences surrounding Seashore’s participation in eugenics. As a diagnosis and critique of the present, “Destined to Fail” identifies resemblances and connections between past and present that illustrate the continuing influence of eugenics—and the systems of reasoning that made early-twentieth-century eugenics imaginable and seem reasonable—on education discourse and practice today. It maps out discursive, citational, and funding connections between eugenicists of the early twentieth-century and contemporary White supremacists; this mapping leads to some of Donald Trump’s supporters and appointees. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-173848 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Michigan State University Press |
| publisherStr | Michigan State University Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1738482026-03-19T14:20:56Z "Destined to Fail" Koza, Julia Eklund Eugenics Euthenics Education Eugenics and education Eugenics and music education Gender Sexism Race Racism Psychology Equity in education Equity in music education Race theory Intersectional research in education Ability Disability Disability studies History of the education of women Curriculum theory Music education History of music education Music History of education Gifted and talented education Tracking Talent Standardized testing Psychometrics Intelligence Musical talent testing Intelligence testing History of psychology Carl Seashore White supremacy History of science Racism and education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education::JND Educational systems and structures::JNDH Education: examinations and assessment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFM Disability: social aspects A little-known fact about the prominent US psychologist and educator Carl E. Seashore (1866–1949) is that he was deeply involved in the American eugenics movement. He was among the US academics to support eugenics long before German Nazis embraced it. A titan in a host of disciplines and a proponent of radical education reform, Seashore used his positional power to promote a constellation of education reforms consistent with central precepts of eugenics. Many of these reforms, including tracking, gifted and talented programs, and high-stakes standardized testing, were adopted and remain standard practice in the United States today. He promulgated the idea that musical talent is biologically inheritable, and he developed the first standardized tests of musical talent; these tests were used by early-twentieth-century researchers in their attempts to determine whether there are race differences in musical talent. Seashore’s ideas and work profoundly shaped music education’s research trajectory, as well as enduring “commonsense” beliefs about musical ability. An intersectional analysis, “Destined to Fail” focuses on the relationship between eugenics and Seashore’s views on ability, race, and gender. Koza concludes that Seashore promoted eugenics and its companion, euthenics, because he was a true believer. She also discusses the longstanding silences surrounding Seashore’s participation in eugenics. As a diagnosis and critique of the present, “Destined to Fail” identifies resemblances and connections between past and present that illustrate the continuing influence of eugenics—and the systems of reasoning that made early-twentieth-century eugenics imaginable and seem reasonable—on education discourse and practice today. It maps out discursive, citational, and funding connections between eugenicists of the early twentieth-century and contemporary White supremacists; this mapping leads to some of Donald Trump’s supporters and appointees. 2026-03-19T14:20:55Z 2026-03-19T14:20:55Z 2026-03-02T17:48:49Z 2026 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110781 9780472906109 9780472129119 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173848 eng open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/110781/1/9780472906109.pdf Michigan State University Press University of Michigan Press 10.3998/mpub.11865737 10.3998/mpub.11865737 aa7f6664-5117-41d8-90f8-c3af56526b92 9780472906109 9780472129119 University of Michigan Press 812 open access |
| spellingShingle | Eugenics Euthenics Education Eugenics and education Eugenics and music education Gender Sexism Race Racism Psychology Equity in education Equity in music education Race theory Intersectional research in education Ability Disability Disability studies History of the education of women Curriculum theory Music education History of music education Music History of education Gifted and talented education Tracking Talent Standardized testing Psychometrics Intelligence Musical talent testing Intelligence testing History of psychology Carl Seashore White supremacy History of science Racism and education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education::JND Educational systems and structures::JNDH Education: examinations and assessment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFM Disability: social aspects Koza, Julia Eklund "Destined to Fail" |
| title | "Destined to Fail" |
| title_full | "Destined to Fail" |
| title_fullStr | "Destined to Fail" |
| title_full_unstemmed | "Destined to Fail" |
| title_short | "Destined to Fail" |
| title_sort | destined to fail |
| topic | Eugenics Euthenics Education Eugenics and education Eugenics and music education Gender Sexism Race Racism Psychology Equity in education Equity in music education Race theory Intersectional research in education Ability Disability Disability studies History of the education of women Curriculum theory Music education History of music education Music History of education Gifted and talented education Tracking Talent Standardized testing Psychometrics Intelligence Musical talent testing Intelligence testing History of psychology Carl Seashore White supremacy History of science Racism and education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education::JND Educational systems and structures::JNDH Education: examinations and assessment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFM Disability: social aspects |
| topic_facet | Eugenics Euthenics Education Eugenics and education Eugenics and music education Gender Sexism Race Racism Psychology Equity in education Equity in music education Race theory Intersectional research in education Ability Disability Disability studies History of the education of women Curriculum theory Music education History of music education Music History of education Gifted and talented education Tracking Talent Standardized testing Psychometrics Intelligence Musical talent testing Intelligence testing History of psychology Carl Seashore White supremacy History of science Racism and education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education::JND Educational systems and structures::JNDH Education: examinations and assessment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFM Disability: social aspects |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110781 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kozajuliaeklund destinedtofail |