AN EXPLORATION OF THE PERSISTING LEGACY OF IMPERIAL RHETORIC IN MODERN EDUCATION THROUGH A CASE STUDY ON ‘EUGENICS, RACE, AND PSYCHIATRY IN THE CAPE COLONY, 1890–1908: DR THOMAS DUNCAN GREENLEES’

Abstract

This article examines imperial rhetoric around race and eugenics through a case study of colonial psychiatrist Dr Duncan T Greenlees. Using the lens of colonial psychiatry, the article explores how the legacy of imperialism lives on in British state institutions, such as in the education sector. It argues that educators need to be aware of imperial ideologies around class and race. Only through a firm historical grasp of these imperial myths can educators begin to challenge their own curricula and pedagogies, which are set against powerful global interests with roots in imperialism and colonialism.