1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910797720203321

Autore

O'Brien Gerald V.

Titolo

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

Pubbl/distr/stampa

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

2013

ISBN

1-5261-0342-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (x, 203 pages)

Collana

Disability History

Disciplina

363.92

Soggetti

Eugenics - United States - History - 20th century

Eugenics - Social aspects - United States

Involuntary sterilization - United States - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Sommario/riassunto

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.