Eugenic Modernity and Urban Slum Reportage: A Transnational Study on the Intersection of Human Nature and Class

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K00470
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02050:Literature in general-related
• Research Institution: Aoyama Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: TSUJI Yoshihiro 青山学院大学, コミュニティ人間科学部, 准教授 (50409588)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 優生学 / 疫病 / ルポルタージュ / 貧民窟 / 英日比較

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study re-evaluates documentary literature and reportage concerning marginalized individuals in the UK and Japan from the 19th century onward. It aims to explore the deep-seated historical and contemporary social issues of poverty highlighted in these documents, drawing insights from empirical and interdisciplinary primary sources.
Through a rigorous three-year investigation and meticulous analysis of records documenting urban slums by British and Japanese journalists, this research illuminates societal ignorance towards the systemic nature of poverty, examining both historical contexts and the impact of environmental factors on human biology, such as epidemic prevention and public health.

Free Research Field

近代日本文学　優生思想

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本の歴史的な西欧資本制への追随のありようは、その放恣を下支えした困窮階級の実態分析においても不十分であり続けている。この度の研究は、従来の階級分析、とりわけスラム住人の生活様態の解析に欠落していた同時代の疫病の度重なる猖獗、公衆衛生的隔離または優生学的分断の要因を（英国ルポとの比較考量から）組み入れたことによって、連帯もしくは団結へと成就されにくい集合性のあり方への深い理解とあらたな克服の方途を示唆しえた点に歴史的また今日的意義があると思われる。