The studies featured in this section of the bibliography focus on mental retardation as a social and cultural construct. Such an approach fits into the broader field of Disability Studies. Consistent with a Disability Studies perspective, the perspectives and experiences of people labeled mentally retarded provide a starting point for this literature.
TITLE: Freak show: Presenting human oddities for amusement and profit
AUTHOR: Bogdan, R.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
The societal presentation of different appearances as things to be feared is not a new phenomenon. Rather, persons with differences or disabilities--the freaks of Bogdan's freak shows--have long been objects of attraction, fear, and amusement. Using qualitative research methods to carry out an in-depth, historical study of freak shows and their participants, managers, and promoters, Bogdan proposes an interesting theory on "freaks." He tells us that, "our reactions to freaks are not a function of some deep-seated fear or some 'energy' that they give off. Rather, our reaction is a result of our socialization, and the way our social institutions managed these people's identities... 'Freak' is not a quality that belongs to the person on display. It is something that we created: a perspective, a set of practices--a social construction."
TITLE: The social meaning of mental retardation: Two life stories
AUTHORS: Bogdan, R., & Taylor, S. J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994
Based on in-depth interviews with two individuals with labels of mental retardation--one woman and one man, who were both former inmates of institutions, the authors look at how these two persons see themselves. Using the life stories of these two people Bogdan and Taylor challenge the concept of mental retardation. The authors argue that mental retardation is not a real entity, but rather a social construct.
TITLE: Interpreting disability: A qualitative reader
AUTHORS: Ferguson, P. M., Ferguson, D. L., & Taylor, S. J. (Eds.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1992
This book is a compilation of qualitative and interpretive studies of people with disabilities or their families. The chapters are divided into four parts: disability at the edges of life, disability and the schools, disability and the community, and disability and culture. Specific stories include: communication on the neonatal unit, the social construction of child abuse, lack of help for elderly people with disabilities; autistic students on one high school, "the town fool," and the experience of disability and the dilemma of normalization. The book ends with a discussion of the future of interpretive studies in disability studies.
TITLE: The politics of caring
AUTHOR: Foster, S. B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1997
The Falmer PressFoster studied 13 admissions to the Weston Center, an institution for people labeled developmentally disabled. She also studied four people whose applications for admissions were denied. She offers discussions on institutionalization and deinstitutionalization, the limits and powers of professionals, and private troubles such as family involvement or lack of involvement.
Taylor & Francis Inc.
242 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-1906
TITLE: A world without words: The social construction of children born deaf and blind
AUTHOR: Goode, D.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1994
"Chris was providing her otherwise impoverished perceptual field with a richness her eyes and ears could not give her. She accomplished this by the use of her available and intact bodily resources -- her good eye, her nose, her muscles, and her skeletal frame. I as, and still am, struck by the inventiveness in this activity." This book is the result of Goode's participant-observation study of two children, one of whom is Chris, with congenital deaf-blindness and mental retardation. Based on countless hours of studying, teaching, observing, and playing with these two children--one of whom lived in an institution and the other in her family home, Goode helps the reader to see that humans both with and without formal language can indeed communicate with those around them in many ways. He suggests that it is impractical to interpret these children's behaviors using ideas about normal behavior of the hearing and seeing world.
TITLE: Culture and retardation: Life histories of mildly mentally retarded persons in American society
AUTHORS: Langness, L. L., & Levine, H. G. (Eds.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
This compilation of ethnographic articles focus on the life experiences of people labeled mildly mentally retarded. They stress that mental retardation is more of a sociocultural phenomenon than a medical/physiological one. The articles cover the subjects' lives in terms of their childhood, patterns of adapting to everyday life, and their response to the label of retardation. In addition, the editors offer a discussion about life history research of people labeled mentally retarded, as well as a discussion about anthropological contributions to this type of study.
TITLE: Perspectives on disability
AUTHOR: Nagler, M. (Ed.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1990
Health Markets ResearchIn the introduction, the editor states, "The purpose of this text is to identify the significant and paramount concerns of the disabled community and to illuminate the obstacles which are often imposed on this minority. Further, it is the intention of this book to remedy the lack of comprehensive information about the disabled and to present some of the conflicting perspectives which surround many disabled issues." The book is divided into 10 section with chapters presenting the perspectives of people with and without disabilities. The section include: what it means to be disabled, societal attitudes about disability, social encounters, family experiences, sexuality and disability, educational opportunities and barriers, employment and disabled workers, legal issues, medical concerns, and what it means to be different: perspectives of the disabled. An appendix contains a bibliography of American and Canadian disability organizations.
851 Moana Court
Palo Alto, CA 94306
TITLE: The variety of community experience: Qualitative studies of family and community life
AUTHORS: Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & Lutfiyya, Z. M. (Eds.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1995
This book looks at life in the community from a unique perspective. It contains studies which look at community participation from the vantage point of people with developmental disabilities, their families, and the community. This purpose of the book is not to describe or promote specific support strategies, practices, or other good ideas, but to explore how life in the community is experienced directly by those with developmental disabilities and their families, whether or not they are involved in the human services systems.
The studies reported in this book address one or more of three major themes including: family life, the nature of community (whether defined in terms of associations and groups or geographically), and the nature of human services. This book contributes to general understandings but also provides useful insights and lessons to policy makers. People with developmental disabilities, family members, professionals, advocates, and others interested in life in the community.
| Return to CHP Home Page |
What's New |
CHP Projects and Activities |
Publications and Resources |
Links to Other Disability Resources |
For More Information |