Research.

Our research appears in peer-reviewed journals and books, mainstream and popular media, and in policy briefs and public health guidance. Our team presents at various conferences and convenings, and has several digital projects that address the history of eugenic sterilization in the United States.

Publications

Natalie Lira. Laboratory of Deficiency: Sterilization and Confinement in California, 1900–1950s. University of California Press. 2021.
Alexandra Minna Stern. Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America. University of California Press. 2015.
Articles
  1. Marie Kaniecki, Nicole Louise Novak, Sarah Gao, Siobán Harlow, and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Operationalizing Racialized Exposures in Historical Research on Anti-Asian Racism and Health: A Comparison of Two Methods.” Front. Public Health 11 (July 2023).
  2. Marie Kaniecki, Nicole L. Novak, Sarah Gao, Natalie Lira, ToniAnn Treviño, Kate O’Connor, and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Racialization and Reproduction: Asian Immigrants and California’s Twentieth-Century Eugenic Sterilization Program.” Social Forces (April 2023): 1–24.
  3. James Tabery, Nicole L. Novak, Lida Sarafraz, and Aubrey Mansfield. “Victims of Eugenic Sterilisation in Utah: Cohort Demographics and Estimate of Living Survivors.” The Lancet Regional Health — Americas 19 (February 2023).
  4. Jacqueline Wernimont. “Listening, Care, and Collections as Data.” Journal of Critical Digital Librarianship 1, No. 1 (Fall 2021): 23–42.
  5. Alexandra Minna Stern. “Forced sterilization policies in the US targeted minorities and those with disabilities – and lasted into the 21st century.” The Conversation. 26 August 2020.
  6. Kerime Alejo, Ivan Saucedo, Fatima Valerio, and Dr.  Natalie Lira. “Behind the Board: Eugenic Sterilizations in North Carolina.” 5 June 2020.
  7. Nicole L. Novak, Natalie Lira, Kate E. O'Connor, Siobán D. Harlow, Sharon L. R. Kardia, and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Disproportionate Sterilization of Latinos Under California's Eugenic Sterilization Program, 1920–1945.” American Journal of Public Health 108, No. 5. May 2018. 611–613.
  8. Alexandra Minna Stern. “Remembering Sara Rosas Garcia.” Process: A Blog for American History. 7 February 2017. http://www.processhistory.org/sara-rosas-garcia/.
  9. Alexandra Minna Stern, Nicole L. Novak, Natalie Lira, Kate E. O’Connor, Siobán D. Harlow, and Sharon L. R. Kardia. “California’s Sterilization Survivors: An Estimate and Call for Redress.” American Journal of Public Health 107, No. 1. January 2017. 50–54.
  10. Nicole Novak, Kate O’Connor, Natalie Lira, and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Ethnic Bias in California’s Eugenic Sterilization Program, 1920–1945.” Populations Studies Center Research Reports. Report 16-866. June 2016. https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/pdf/rr16-866.pdf.
  11. Alexandra Minna Stern. “When California Sterilized 20,000 of Its Citizens.” Zocalo Public Square. 6 January 2016. https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2016/01/06/when-california-sterilized-20000-of-its-citizens/chronicles/who-we-were/.
  12. Alexandra Minna Stern. Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America. 2nd ed. California: University of California Press, 2015.
  13. Natalie Lira and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Mexican Americans and Eugenic Sterilization: Resisting Reproductive Injustice in California, 1920–1950.” Aztlan 39, No. 2. Fall 2014. 9–34.
  14. Alexandra Minna Stern. “STERILIZED in the Name of Public Health: Race, Immigration, and Reproductive Control in Modern California.” American Journal of Public Health 95, no. 7. July 2005. 1128–1138.

Digital Projects

Eugenic States: A Contextual Archive: An expanded digital project providing resources about and contextualizing 20th century eugenics and sterilization in California, North Carolina, and Iowa. Currently in development.
Screenshot of the Sonoma State Hospital Narrative and Visual History Site. Links out to the external site.
Sonoma State Hospital Narrative and Visual History. Justin Joque, Kayla Kingston, Nicole Novak, Alexandra Minna Stern, Kate O'Connor, and Jacqueline Wernimont.

​Eugenic Rubicon: California's Sterilization Stories. Jacqueline Wernimont and Alexandra Minna Stern.
Media Coverage and Peer Review
  1. Maija Anderson. "Reviews: The Eugenic Rubicon: California's Sterilization Stories." The American Archivist 82, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2019): 225–229.
"The Movement that Inspired the Holocaust," TEDx Animation
Trace the history of the eugenics movement in the US, and discover how the belief in ideal genetics led to forced sterilizations.

Since ancient Greece, humans have controlled populations via reproduction, retaining some traits and removing others. But in the 19th century, a new scientific movement dedicated to this endeavor emerged: eugenics. Scientists believed they could improve society by ensuring that only desirable traits were passed down. Alexandra Minna Stern and Natalie Lira detail the history of eugenics in the US.

Lesson by Alexandra Minna Stern and Natalie Lira, directed by Héloïse Dorsan-Rachet.​

Presentations and Lectures

  1. Aubrey Mansfield, Lida Sarafraz, James Tabery, and Nicole Novak. “Victims of Eugenic Sterilization in Utah: Demographics and Survivor Estimate.” ELSIcon2022. 1 June 2022. 
  2. Bridget Easler, Breanna Rinker, Alexandra Minna Stern, Elyse Thulin, and Nicole Novak. “What Led to the Abolition of Iowa’s State Eugenics Program in 1977?” ELSIcon2022. 31 May 2022. 
  3. Heather Dron, Marie Kaniecki, Levity Smith, Juan Gudino, and Nicole Novak. “The Limits of Consent and Patterns of Coercion in U.S. Histories of Eugenic Sterilization.” ELSIcon2022. 1 June 2022. 
  4. Darian Thompson, Nina Vo, Stella Murphy, Juan Gudino, and Nicole Novak. “How Did the Biodeterministic View of Criminality Influence Coercive Sterilization in the State of Iowa from 1934 to 1976?” ELSCIcon2022. 31 May 2022 
  5. Heather Dron. “Refusal and Resistance: Patients’ and Relatives’ Objections to Sterilization in California Institutions, 1922–1948.” American Association for the History of Medicine.23 April 2022.
  6. ​Marie Kaniecki and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Intersection of Japanese American Incarceration During WWII with Eugenic Sterilization in California Institutions.” Poster. NHGRI Research Training and Career Development Annual Meeting. April 2022. 
  7. James Tabery, Nicole Novak, L. Sarafraz, and Aubrey Mansfield. “Victims of Eugenic Sterilization in Utah: Demographics and an Estimation of Survivors. Poster. NHGRI Research Training and Career Development Annual Meeting. April 2022. 
  8. Natalie Lira. “Documenting Histories of Reproductive Injustice: Mexican-origin People’s Experiences of Eugenic Sterilizations in California, 1900s–1950s.” University of Oklahoma Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. 2 March 2022. Online. 
  9. Nicole Novak. “Eugenic Sterilization in Iowa: Demographics and Survivor Estimate.” Family Working Group. Department of Sociology, University of California Los Angeles. 14 February 2022. 
  10. James Tabery and Nicole Novak. “Reckoning with the History of Eugenic Sterilization in Utah. Grand Rounds, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah. 3 February 2022. 
  11. Johanna Schoen. “Race and Reproduction: The North Carolina Story,” in “The Meaning of Eugenics: Historical and Present-Day Discussions of Eugenics and Scientific Racism. National Human Genome Research Institute. 3 December 2021. Online. 
  12. Natalie Lira. “Who is Unfit?: Centering Race and Disability in Histories of Eugenics,” in “The Meaning of Eugenics: Historical and Present-Day Discussions of Eugenics and Scientific Racism. National Human Genome Research Institute. 3 December 2021. Online. 
  13. Alexandra Minna Stern. “Eugenics and Sterilization in the United States: Patterns, Experiences and Legacies,” in “The Meaning of Eugenics: Historical and Present-Day Discussions of Eugenics and Scientific Racism. National Human Genome Research Institute. 2 December 2021. Online. 
  14. Levity Smith, Bridget Easler, Alexandra Minna Stern, Nicole Novak. “Trends in Nationality and Deportations over Time in 20th Century CA Mental Health Institutions.” American Public Health Association. Denver, CO. October 2021. 
  15. Juan Gudino, Marie Kaniecki, Alexandra Minna Stern, Natalie Lira, and Nicole Novak. “Regulating Desirability: Immigration and Sterilization in California’s State Eugenics Law, 1920–1945.” American Public Health Association. Denver, CO. 25 October 2021. https://apha.confex.com/apha/2021/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/510321.  
  16. Nicole Novak. “Immigration Enforcement and Detention: Implications for Sexual and Reproductive Health.” American Public Health Association. Denver, CO. 25 October 2021. https://apha.confex.com/apha/2021/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/512076.  
  17. Natalie Lira. “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights Violations Among Detained Latina/o/x Persons: A Historical Overview.” American Public Health Association. Denver, CO. 25 October 2021. https://apha.confex.com/apha/2021/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/512035.  
  18. Levity Smith, Bridget Easler, Juan Gudino, Nicole Novak, and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Patient Nativity and Deportations from California Mental Health Institutions Practicing Eugenic Sterilization, 1908–1936.” American Public Health Association. Denver, CO. 21 October 2021. https://apha.confex.com/apha/2021/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/508745. 
  19. Juan Gudino. “Regulating Desirability: Immigration and Sterilization in California’s State Eugenics Law, 1920–1945.” University of Washington Health Services Seminar. October 2021. 
  20. Alexandra Minna Stern, with Dana-Ain Davis. “A Conversation,” in “Dismantling Eugenics: Legacies / Reckonings / Futures Convening.” The Anti-Eugenics Project. 2 October 2021. 
  21. Alexandra Minna Stern. “Reckoning with Eugenics at the Sterilization and Social Justice Lab. Community-Engaged Scholarship Addressing Crisis and Renewal. Pauley Symposium and Rawley Graduate Conference for the Humanities. University of Nebraska. October 2021. 
  22. Alexandra Minna Stern. “Re-Visiting the Path of the Social Determinants of Health through Story-Telling to Effect Public Health Practices That Result in Inclusion of Socially and Economically Stressed Populations.” American Public Health Association. October 2021. 
  23. Alexandra Minna Stern, with Subhadra Das, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Miranda Lowe, and Meredith Peruzzi. “How We Learn: Looking at Why it Was a Natural History Museum that Twice Played Host to the Epicentre of International Eugenics,” in “Dismantling Eugenics: Legacies / Reckonings / Futures Convening.” The Anti-Eugenics Project. 28 September 2021. 
  24. Gianna May Sanchez, with Lina-Maria Murillo and Celeste Menchaca. “How We Look: Eugenics, the Second Congress, Immigration, and Changing Today’s Demographics,” in in “Dismantling Eugenics: Legacies / Reckonings / Futures Convening.” The Anti-Eugenics Project. 27 September 2021. 
  25. Natalie Lira, with Susan Antebi, Paul Vanouse, Erika Dyck, and Miroslava Chávez-García (Chair). “Eugenics across the Americas,” in “Dismantling Eugenics: Legacies / Reckonings / Futures Convening.” The Anti-Eugenics Project. 26 September 2021. 
  26. Natalie Lira, Nicole Novak, and Kate O’Connor. “Regional Reflections on Eugenics: Midwest Convening,” in “‘From Small Beginnings…:’ Addressing the Continuing Shadows of Eugenics.” 3 September 2021. NADSN London Hub, Birkbeck College, University of London, and UoLDOG: University of London (colleges) Disability Officers Group. Online. 
  27. Nicole Novak. “Iowa’s State Eugenic Sterilization Program.” Regional Reflections on Eugenics: Midwest Convening. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 3 September 2021. 
  28. Juan Gudino, Nicole Novak, Marie Kaniecki, Natalie Lira, and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Regulating Desirability: Immigration and Eugenics in California’s State Eugenics Law, 1920–1945.” APHA Disability Section Twitter Conference. September 2021. 
  29. Alexandra Minna Stern. “How We Reckon: A Look at Reckonings Around the Different Characters of the Second and Third Congress, and What We/They Learn from This.” Dismantling Eugenics Conference. September 2021. 
  30. Alexandra Minna Stern. “Eugenics in the Midwest,” in “‘From Small Beginnings…:’ Addressing the Continuing Shadows of Eugenics.” University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. September 2021. 
  31. Alexandra Minna Stern. “Eugenics, Reparations, and Memory in California.” University of California at Santa Barbara. June 2021. 
  32. Juan Gudino, Marie Kaniecki, Natalie Lira, Nicole Novak, and Kate O’Connor. “Panel II: Sterilization and Social Justice Lab.” Eugenics in California and the World: Race, Class, Gender/Sexuality, and Disability. Virtual Symposium. June 2021. 
  33. Kate O'Connor. “Madness in Michigan: Eugenic Sterilization in Michigan's State Mental Hospitals, 1929–1952,” in “Eugenic and Racial Thinking.” American Association for the History of Medicine. 14 May 2021. Online. 
  34. Juan Gudino and Nicole Novak. “Sterilizing the ‘Unfit’: An Exploration of Iowa’s State Eugenics Law (1934–1974).” Public Health Conference of Iowa. April 2021. https://homebase.map-dynamics.com/iowapha2020/schedule/47096.  
  35. Juan Gudino, Nicole Novak, Marie Kaniecki, Natalie Lira, and Alexandra Minna Stern. “Regulating Desirability: Immigration and Eugenics in California’s State Eugenics Law.” National Human Genome Research Institute Trainee Meeting. April 2021. 
  36. Belly of the Beast Film Screening and Roundtable Discussion. University of Iowa. 28 March 2021 – 3 April 2021; Roundtable 30 March 2021, 7 PM CST. Online. 
  37. Marie Kaniecki, Nicole Novak, Natalie Lira, ToniAnn Treviño, and Alexandra Minna Stern. “California's 20th Century Eugenic Sterilization Program: Patterns of Coercive Sterilization Among Asian Immigrants,” in “1103 — The Demography of Race and Racism in the American Past.” PAA 2021 Annual Meeting. 5–8 May 2021. Online. 
  38. Kate O’Connor. “Another Borderland: Eugenics in Michigan.” Eugenics in California and the World: Race, Class, Gender/Sexuality, and Disability: A Virtual Symposium. 2021. 
  39. Jacqueline Wernimont. “Possibilities and Perils of Collections as Data: Lessons from Eugenic Rubicon.” Louisiana Digital Library as Data Speaker Series. 14 December 2020. Online. 
  40. Nicole Novak, Alexandra Minna Stern, Kate O’Connor, Natalie Lira, Siobán Harlow, Sharon Kardia, and Johanna Schoen. “Studying America’s Eugenics Era through an ELSI Lens: Mixed Methods Study Design and Public Health Relevance.” American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting. October 2020. Online. https://apha.confex.com/apha/2020/meetingapi.cgi/Paper/482934?filename=2020_Abstract482934.html&template=Word.  
  41. Natalie Lira, Venus Gines, and Azadeh Shahshahani. Dignidad para migrantes Town Hall: A discussion on eugenics, health injustices and human rights violations at U.S. ICE detention centers. 6 October 2020. 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM EST. Online. 
  42. ELSI Virtual Forum. “30 Years of the Genome: Integrating and Applying ELSI Research.” Online Broadcast June 15 2020. 
  43. Natalie Lira and Nicole Novak. Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science 2020 Conference. 30 September – 2 October 2020. Online. 
  44. Nicole Novak. American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting and Expo. 24 – 28 October 2020. San Francisco, CA. Online. 
  45. Kate O'Connor. American Public Health Association 2020 Annual Meeting and Expo. 24 – 28 October 2020. San Francisco, CA. Online. 
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