The Hegemony of Genealogy

Key Points

Critical historiography, originally tied to the concept of pedigree, has evolved significantly in academic discussions.
Genealogy has become hegemonic in anglophone scholarship, particularly influenced by the work of Michel Foucault.
This analysis traces how associations with eugenics have been stripped from the concept of genealogy over time.
The work critiques the methodological assumptions underlying genealogy as a dominant historical framework.

Abstract

Abstract The term genealogy pervades humanities scholarship today. Yet its dual meaning invites confusion. For scholars, genealogy suggests a critical historiography emphasizing contingency, but most outsiders associate the term with heredity and family lineage. How did we get contingent history from a word meaning “pedigree”? And how did critical history become so hegemonic? This essay investigates the intellectual and institutional ascension of genealogy as a dominant genre within anglophone scholarship. With particular attention to Michel Foucault's American apotheosis, it reconstructs the epistemic shifts and disciplinary realignments that enabled critical history's rise and its ongoing hegemony, tracing how genealogy was shorn of its associations with eugenics. Ultimately, the work mirrors critical history onto itself, challenging its methodological presumptions.

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The Hegemony of Genealogy

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