Introduction: The Global Transfer of Techniques of Population Control in the 20th Century

Referent/in: Veronika Lipphardt, Berlin / Corinna R. Unger, Bremen

Abstract

In our introduction, we will situate the panel in current research on demography and population politics and show how the issue of population control offers a unique perspective on global history in the 20th century. The introduction will discuss key questions with regard to the methodological and conceptual challenges of writing global, or transnational, history. It will also debate the usefulness of interdisciplinary approaches – in this case, demography, history, history of science, biology, and sociology – and suggest related questions that can be taken up in the discussion following the presentations.