(Extraordinary) Bodies of Knowledge: Recent Scholarship in American Disability History

Abstract

general content and value of disability history, there are two especially useful essays. In the American Historical Review, Catherine Kudlick maps out intellectual and theoretical arguments in her essay, Why We Need Another 'Other.' A solid combination of theory and application, Doug Baynton's essay in The New History (2001), Disability as a Justification for Inequality, draws on three dominant themes in American history slavery, female suffrage, and immigration policy to reveal the many ways that disability intersects, underscores, and infiltrates our nation's past. In the process, he articulates a common experience for many who enter into this scholarly pursuit: Disability is everywhere in history, once you begin looking for it. Teachers can mine the Encyclopedia of American History (2009) for readings that would give students a general overview of disability history. The encyclopedia interprets disability widely, presenting solid and innovative historical approaches to the meanings and lived experiences of disability in American history. Edited by Paul Longmore and Lauri Umansky, The New (2001) showcases recent scholarship by leading scholars in the field. Most works focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and cover broad themes, such as labor, policy, agency, citizenship, and representation, while they also offer more focused analyses of disability groups, including blind and deaf communities, disabled veterans, and individuals with chronic illnesses.