An urban tour around the figures of the Genevan savants, followed by a discussion with Chantal Courtois and Floriane Morin, curators at MEG. French speaking. 19 March 2022 between 14:30-16:00.

Is science always synonymous with clairvoyance? Is it always synonymous with 'progress'?

History shows that these assertions must be qualified. Politically and socially constructed, science has legitimised and conveyed a number of inequalities. Thus, in the 19th century and for a good part of the 20th century, many scientists and scholars, blinded by their beliefs, held discriminatory discourses, ranging from racism to sexism, validism and classism, which they presented as scientific truths. In this tour, the public will meet Carl Vogt, Emile Yung and Eugène Pittard, whose theories contributed to the construction of these inequalities. Following in the footsteps of this past means questioning the persistence of inequalities and discrimination in the present, but also understanding the construction of science as an ideologically situated phenomenon.

The tour ends with an immersion in the history of the MEG and its collections, assembled by Eugène Pittard in the early 20th century.

Visit proposed within the framework of the "Week of actions against racism" in the city of Geneva, which takes place from 19 to 27 March 2022..

Aline Zuber, Historian and Guide for Dialogue en Route
Chantal Courtois, Assistant Curator Americas & Photography collections at MEG
Floriane Morin, Curator Africa collections at MEG

Register via the electronic form

Discover the full range of tours on the website of Dialogue En Route, partner of the MEG