In the Community Histories Lab, we challenge traditional academic models that have historically perpetuated inequitable power dynamics between universities and communities. Drawing from studies of science, medicine, and racism, we aim to overturn the division between academic researchers as “knowers” and community members as “objects of knowledge.” Instead, we embrace a collaborative model of humanities research and teaching that centers community voices and fosters mutual learning.
Our work is grounded in the belief that history can serve as a tool for harm reduction, justice, and transformation. Through hands-on, project-based research, we aim to create spaces where undergraduate, graduate, and community researchers work together to uncover and disseminate histories that matter. Below, learn more about how this pedagogical philosophy is reflected in our ongoing projects.
The Anti-Eugenics Collective at Yale (AECY) leads workshops for departments and programs across the university in the history of eugenics research and advocacy at Yale and its impacts on contemporary research, clinical care, and policy. Participating programs have included Yale Pediatrics Residency, Psychiatry Residency, Internal Medicine, Comparative Medicine, Genetics, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology and Linguistics. The AECY has also conducted workshops for K-12 educators and students across the state that have included visits to Yale special collections to view archival collections related to eugenics.
Daniel Martinez HoSang (Associate Professor of Ethnicity, Race & Migration) and Dora Guo (Yale College ’23): “Eugenics Comes to Yale: Dean Milton Winternitz and the American Eugenics Society.”
with Professors Marco Ramos and Daniel HoSang
Photo courtesy of Lucy Gellman, Arts Council of Greater New Haven
The New Haven “Renewed” project explores the intersections of the Community Mental Health and Black Power Movement in New Haven during the 1960s and ‘70s. Through examination of how academic medical centers leverage mental health legislation to expand their influence in the community, this project prioritizes transparency and truth-telling.
Photo courtesy of Lorena Mitchell, Office of Community Mental Health Initiatives, City of New Haven
In collaboration with New Haven residents, researchers have documented this history through archival work and oral histories and developed methods to make this information accessible to those beyond the university community. For example, in spring 2024, the group curated a community exhibit celebrating the contributions of community activists in advancing racial and health justice which made appearances at New Haven City Hall and the New Haven Museum. The exhibit is now on permanent display at the Courtland S. Wilson Branch of the New Haven Free Public Library in the Hill neighborhood. Project members have also worked with the School of Medicine’s National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP) to facilitate walking tours of the Hill neighborhood for new medical trainees.
The Cushing Patient Archives Project is creating new ways to teach and learn with historical medical collections. Our research centers patient stories and, in doing so, encourages community, undergraduate, and medical learners to consider the patients who made medical discoveries possible. This project is also creating ways of teaching through and with patient records that enable students and community members to understand archival limitations and to think beyond the historical record.
The History of Psychiatry Track works to facilitate ethical community engagement in medical training. This initiative includes a Critical Walking Tour of Yale and New Haven designed for psychiatrists in training.
The tour uses the history of Yale’s ties to racial science to teach trainees about the harm inflicted by their institution on the community they serve. By confronting these legacies, participants are encouraged to reflect on their ethical responsibilities and consider how they can contribute to repairing historical harm.
The Mistrusting Yale project centers the stories and experiences of community members, and how they perceive healthcare at Yale. It will draw upon Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to create opportunities for students, medical learners, and faculty to learn directly from community members about the local histories and contexts of medical mistrust. It also creates opportunities for community members to educate us about the best ways to mitigate and repair the harm caused by medical mistrust.