Liverpool University Press Idiocy: A Cultural History (Representations: Health, Disability, Culture and Society): 3 (Liverpool Studies in Health, Disability, Culture & Society)

Intellectual or cognitive disability has usually been understood as a historically consistent, philosophically uncomplicated phenomenon, but when we explore the its history and that of its genealogical precursors such as idiocy and folly, we see how shifting and contextually-dependent the concept truly is. This book explores how the idea of idiocy changes across time and place, taking its shape and significance according to an era s prevailing social and cultural concerns. While the focus is primarily on nineteenth-century Britain, it also touches upon notions of idiocy and folly in previous eras, and considers influential ideas emanating from the United States and France. The analysis draws upon cultural, sociological, scientific and popular representations, ranging from Wordsworth's ''Idiot Boy'' to Dickens' Barnaby Rudge to J. Langdon Down's ''Ethnic classifications of idiots'', to track how the concept of idiocy intersects with social demographics, political movements, philosophical positions, pedagogical innovations, scientific theories, economic concerns, and the growth of the medical profession. In showing how the concept of idiocy changes in response to differing concerns and beliefs, this book also offers a foundation for understanding our current concepts of intellectual and cognitive disability. Idiocy: A Cultural History will be required reading for anyone working in Disability Studies, History of Medicine, Social History and Literary Studies.