Blog | Page 6 of 8 | Professor Joe Cain

News Ticker

[ 2026-08-24 ] Letters of Reference and Recommendation Blog
[ 2026-08-20 ] Clarity at last! Use this hierarchy of elements in podcasting Blog
[ 2026-08-11 ] HPSC0011 STS Perspectives on Big Problems 2026-27 Modules
[ 2026-08-11 ] Comparing Tempo and Mode (1944) with Major Features (1953) by George Gaylord Simpson Synthesis Period
[ 2026-08-11 ] Major Features of Evolution (1953) by George Gaylord Simpson Key Texts

Scopes Monkey Trial 1925. William Jennings Bryan addressing the jury

Scopes Monkey Trial 1925 – Complete Trial Transcripts

Shortly after the conclusion of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial – officially, the case of State of Tennessee versus John Thomas Scopes, the National Book Company (Cincinnati, Ohio) published transcripts of the trial. Under the […]

Insect on Leaf - how might those names translate into the Linnean system of taxonomy?

Changing Offensive Names In Taxonomy Will Be A Hard Ask

The surge of energy for BlackLivesMatter this summer (2020) is driving change in areas far beyond those directly connected with police violence and responsive protests. This surge has given huge momentum to efforts seeking removal […]

UCL Galton Lecture Theatre de-named at University College London June 2020

UCL Removes Names For Racist Eugenicists Pearson and Galton

It’s been a long road. UCL has announced the official decision to remove the names of Francis Galton and Karl Pearson from its estate. De-named will be the Galton Lecture Theatre, Pearson Lecture Theatre, and […]

Number 88 Gower Street - location for the Eugenics Record Office 1904-1906 | At cover of Gower Street and Torrington Place, Bloomsbury, London, England, United Kingdom

Francis Galton’s Eugenics Record Office on Gower Street (ERO-Galton)

Francis Galton created a Eugenics Record Office (ERO-Galton) at 88 Gower Street, London, England, in 1904, while developing a scheme to create for himself some research capacity in this area. ERO-Galton operated until 1907, when […]

view of location for number 110 Gower Street in relation to University College quad, 1946 aerial photograph courtesy Historic England. Image EAW000537

What Happened to Darwin’s House on Gower Street?

Charles Darwin lived in number 12 Upper Gower Street between 1839 and 1842, before moving to Down House at the end of summer 1842. (Charles moved into the house on 31 December 1838, spent his […]

Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797) commemorative plaque on UCL Charles Bell Building | ProfJoeCain

Reviewing Commemorations: A Strategy for Executive Action

In a recent blog post on Lessons About Renaming University Buildings, I developed some key concepts to focus discussions about renaming commemorative objects at universities. The aim was to assist in building a strategy for […]

Commemoration for service in the Great War, 1914-1919, University College London (UCL) | ProfJoeCain

Lessons About Renaming University Buildings

Summary: The argument builds on several steps. First, naming is a commemorative act. These acts support heritage stories. Conflicts over renaming really are conflicts between heritage stories. These conflicts cannot be resolved by appealing to […]

Charles Darwin Blue Plaque on Gower Street London WC1 | ProfJoeCain

Darwinian Heritage on Gower Street at UCL

English Heritage commemorates Charles Darwin with a blue plaque located on Gower Street in Bloomsbury, central London. The “Darwin plaque” is fixed to the Darwin Building, one of the substantial science buildings of University College […]

Galton and Schuster (1906) Noteworthy Families title page element

Eugenics at University of Puget Sound (UPS)

Colleagues at the University of Puget Sound (UPS) have developed a course to explore the history and legacy of eugenics in their community. This draws on an interdisciplinary team of tutors and some highly energetic students. […]

UCL Galton Lecture Theatre - plaque on door - ProfJoeCain

Time Has Run Out for Francis Galton at UCL

Francis Galton was a bad piece of work. His racist, nativist, supremacist views are antithetical to UCL’s vision and values. He is no role model for me. He should be no role model for you. […]

Professor Joe Cain 2026