Professor Marius Turda

Professor in 20th Century Central and Eastern European Biomedicine

School of Education, Humanities and Languages

Role

Marius Turda is Director of the Centre for Medical Humanities.

Originally from Maramures, Marius has been teaching at Oxford Brookes since 2005. He is the founder director of the Cantemir Institute at the University of Oxford (2012-2013) and founder of the Working Group on the History of Eugenics and Race (HRE), established in 2006. 

Teaching and supervision

Modules taught

Undergraduate

  • Death, Disease and Doctors: Medicine and Society [Year 1] - This module engages with the changing nature of medical ideas and practices, and their role in shaping policy and behaviour and our understanding of modern society.
  • The Making of the Modern World: Brave New Worlds: Evolution and its Discontents [Year 2] - This module explores the history of evolutionary ideas and how they’re applied to society and politics.
  • On Race and Racism [Year 3] - This module places the history of race and the development of racism in a global perspective.

Postgraduate

  • Engineering Society: Eugenics and Biopolitics in Europe, 1860-1945 - This module examines the legacies of eugenics, racism and biopolitics.

Supervision

Dr Turda has supervised and continues to supervise BA, MA and PhD dissertations on various aspects of the history of eugenics and race.

Research Students

Name Thesis title Completed
Ross Brooks Queer Science in Britain, c.1900-1939: Narratives of Naturalisation and Eradication Active
Cosmin Koszor-Codrea ‘The Word of Science’: The Popularization of Darwinism in Romania, 1860–1918 Active

Research

Professor Turda's  research interests are in the history of eugenics, race and racism. 

Research grants and awards

Current funding include an award from Public History Project and one from the Open Society Foundation, administered by the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Research impact

Centres and institutes

Groups

Projects

Projects as Principal Investigator, or Lead Academic if project is led by another Institution

  • Uppsala University studentship - Terry-Lee Marttinen (01/09/2022 - 31/08/2028), funded by: Vetenskapsradet (Swedish Research Council), funding amount received by Brookes: £49,416
  • 'We are not alone': Legacies of Eugenics, 1921-2021 (01/07/2021 - 24/05/2024), funded by: Ford Foundation, funding amount received by Brookes: £140,233
  • Ana Aslan and Gerovital: Rejuvenation, Gerontology and Senescence in Romania - extra funding (01/11/2019 - 31/12/2025), funded by: Farmec SA, funding amount received by Brookes: £3,200
  • Ana Aslan and Gerovital: Rejuvenation, Gerontology and Senescence in Romania (01/11/2019 - 07/01/2023), funded by: Farmec SA, funding amount received by Brookes: £13,158

Publications

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Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

Conferences

Recent conferences organised and papers presented

Seminar series organised

  • Co-founder and convenor of East & East-Central Europe Seminar, University of Oxford (2006-2012)
  • Convenor of the History of Medicine Seminar, Oxford Brookes University (2010-2014)
  • Convenor of the Centre for Medical Humanities Seminar, Oxford Brookes University (2015-present)