The Genuine Jewish Type

This article presents a critical, genealogical analysis of the discourse of Tay-Sachs disease (TSD), a genetic metabolic disorder historically perceived as exclusive, or nearly exclusive, to Jews. Drawing on medical case reports from the period between 1881 (when the disease was first observed) and 1943, i.e., the early years of the Second World War, the study examines how Tay-Sachs was discursively constructed as a Jewish disease. In particular, the study provides an analysis of TSD in the context of anti-immigrationism, especially in 1910s and 1920s US, when both eugenics and Jewish emigration from Eastern Europe were on the rise. The argument illustrates the reification of Jews as "raced" in and through this disease, demonstrating that knowledge about Tay-Sachs (and other group-specific genetic diseases) needs to be examined in socio-cultural terms alongside existing biological accounts. Résumé: Cette étude retrace la généalogie du discours sur la maladie de Tay-Sachs, un désordre génétique du métabolisme, historiquement conçu comme exclusif aux juifs ou pratiquement exclusif à ceux-ci. Elle en propose une critique. Fondée sur l'analyse de rapports médicaux allant de 1881 (date à la quelle la maladie a d'abord été identifiée) à fin 1943, c'est-à-dire les premières années de la seconde guerre mondiale, cette étude décrit comment les discours prononcés autour de la maladie de Tay-Sachs en ont fait un problème juif. Elle se penche en particulier sur le contexte anti-immigration des décennies 1910 et 1920 aux États-Unis alors que l'eugénisme et l'émigration en provenance de l'Europe de l'Est prenaient de l'essor. Elle tente d'établir comment les juifs furent réifiés en tant que « race » à travers et grâce à cette maladie, et montre comment le savoir relatif à la Tay-Sachs (ou à toute autre maladie génétique spécifique à un groupe) relève tout autant de termes socio-culturels que des données biologiques existantes

Archaeology · Disease · Eugenics · Genealogy · Ideology · Judaism · Pathology · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Tay-Sachs disease · Theology · Borges, Kipling, and Jewish Identity · Gender Studies · History · History of Medicine and Tropical Health · Law · Medical History and Research · Medicine · Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease · Philosophy · Race, Genetics, and Society · Race, History, and American Society

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