Framing the moron : the social construction of feeble-mindedness in the American eugenic era / Gerald V O'Brien.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Brien, Gerald, 1958- author.

Series:

Disability history.

Disability History

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Eugenics--United States--History--20th century.

Eugenics.

Eugenics--Social aspects--United States.

Involuntary sterilization--United States--History.

Involuntary sterilization.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 203 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester, England ; New York, New York : Manchester University Press, 2013.

Summary:

Many people are shocked upon discovering that tens of thousands of innocent persons in the United States were involuntarily sterilized, forced into institutions, and otherwise maltreated within the course of the eugenic movement (1900-30). Such social control efforts are easier to understand when we consider the variety of dehumanizing and fear-inducing rhetoric propagandists invoke to frame their potential victims. This book details the major rhetorical themes employed within the context of eugenic propaganda, drawing largely on original sources of the period. Early in the twentieth century the term "moron" was developed to describe the primary targets of eugenic control. This book demonstrates how the image of moronity in the United States was shaped by eugenicists. This book will be of interest not only to disability and eugenic scholars and historians, but to anyone who wants to explore the means by which pejorative metaphors are used to support social control efforts against vulnerable community groups.

Contents:

Cover

Framing the moron

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 Metaphors and the dehumanization of marginalized groups

2 The organism metaphor: the moron as a diseased entity

3 The animal metaphor: the moron as an atavistic subhuman

4 The war and natural catastrophe metaphors: the moron as an enemy force

5 The religious and altruistic metaphors: the moron as an immoral sinner and an object of protection

6 The object metaphor: the moron as a poorly functioning human

7 Conclusion

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed October 13, 2016).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

1-5261-0342-7

OCLC:

960166184