Defectives at the World's Fair
Constructing Disability in 1904
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23235248 |
|---|---|
| Authors | James W Trent (JAMES W. TRENT, JR., PhD, is a professor in the Department of Social Work at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. Address: James W. Trent, Jr., Department of Social Work, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL 62026-1450 (e-mail: [email protected])., corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 201-211 |
| Publication date | 1998-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Remedial and Special Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0741-9325 • E-ISSN: 1538-4756 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/074193259801900403 |
| OpenAlex | W2113966758 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 1 |
From displays of so-called defectives and primitives at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, early 20th-century authorities shaped a definition of abnormality that they showed to a curious public. Complementing these displays were discourses about disability that proposed schemes for education, custody, sterilization, and even extermination. Like the displays of defectives, the discourses about defectives paralleled discourses about primitive races that appeared at the turn of the century to rationalize American imperialism. Together, the displays and discourses of defectives and primitive races shaped an understanding of science and education. In so doing, they also provided American elites a way of distinguishing between improvable and unimprovable inferiors (see Note).
Sociology · Academic Freedom and Politics · Medical History and Research · Race, History, and American Society
| Citations per year | 0.21 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2017 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |