For the past two decades, I’ve been investigating the legacies of eugenics and the need to unbury, understand, and heal the roots of the eugenic’s tree left to flourish freely after its branches and trunk were cut in 1945. My today’s research (postdoctoral at Universidade Estadual de Maringá, UEM, Paraná) is to understand how sterilization in Brazil operated as a consensual method during the 1960s-1980s but was rooted in eugenic principles from the early 1900s. I’m also studying (with a fellowship from the Kentucky Historical Society) the files from the Kentucky Birth Control League to identify why Kentucky didn’t have any sterilization laws as its boundaries states.
Since 2021, we collaborate with From Small Beginnins, lead by Benedict Ipgrave (University College of London) which serves as a unifying platform for various anti-eugenic activities. It aims to consolidate synergies among scholars of eugenics, activists, practitioners, journalists, curators, and artists across the world and aspires to build conceptual bridges across academic disciplines and mobilize communities, while at the same time facilitating public engagement with the history and legacies of eugenics.
Recently (2026), the XL Coloquio internacional: Contra la «perfección». Por un futuro no eugenésico, in Mexico City, gathered scholars, activists, and other stakeholders worldwide to discuss anti-eugenics actions for the future. The colloquium was organized in partnership with the 17 Instituto, and talks are available on their YouTube Channel.
Anti-Eugenia & Sociedade
This is an independent research group comprising people from several fields of study, dedicated to investigating and advocating for the unearthing of the roots of the eugenics tree, and to understanding the path by which Brazilian identity has been perpetuated through methods of exclusion, prejudice, and injustice. The group is part of the Global Anti-Eugenics Network.
Digital archives created during the pandemic of Covid-19 by historians concerned how the memories of these years will be collected by archives. The archive contains hundreds of records submitted by ordinary people and their unique experiences during the pandemic period. At the end of 2021, the group published some of the collection in form of a book. The website is currently inactive.
Pietra Diwan 