Ordinary Future Margaret Mead, the Problem of Disability, and a Child Born Different
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Thomas W. Pearson is Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Social Science Department at the University of Wisconsin–Stout and author of When the Hills Are Gone: Frac Sand Mining and the Struggle for Community.Ordinary Future Margaret Mead, the Problem of Disability, and a Child Born Different
"[A] moving meditation on difference, disability, and humanity. In 2015, when his newborn daughter, Michaela, was diagnosed with Down syndrome, [Pearson] and his wife were shocked. Soon, though, he asked himself whether that initial response was generated by ideas about normalcy deeply embedded in the culture. . . . Sensitive reflections on human value."
Kirkus Reviews
"In a new book, an anthropologist and father of three, including a daughter with Down syndrome, reflects on the pressures of parenting."
Sapiens
"Overall, this book does not shy away from difficult content and debates, providing ample opportunity to grapple with questions of positionality, the past, present, and future of anthropology, and the way society treats disabled citizens. With its rich combination of personal narrative, history of anthropology, and historical ethnography, this book is likely to be of interest to a wide variety of students, both undergraduate and graduate, and scholars at various levels in both anthropology and disability studies."
Medical Anthropology Quarterly
An Ordinary Future is a deeply moving work that weaves an account of Margaret Mead's path to disability rights activism with one anthropologist's experience as the parent of a child with Down syndrome. With this book, Thomas W. Pearson confronts the dominant ideas, disturbing contradictions, and dramatic transformations that have shaped our perspectives on disability over the last century.
Pearson examines his family's story through the lens of Mead's evolving relationship to disability—a topic once so stigmatized that she advised Erik Erikson to institutionalize his son, born with Down syndrome in 1944. Over the course of her career, Mead would become an advocate for disability rights and call on anthropology to embrace a wider understanding of humanity that values diverse bodies and minds. Powerful and personal, An Ordinary Future reveals why this call is still relevant in the ongoing fight for disability justice and inclusion, while shedding light on the history of Down syndrome and how we raise children born different.
Preface
1. Becoming
2. Features
3. Institutions
4. Potential
5. Belonging 1
6. Vulnerability
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
"Pearson illustrates the depths of disability negation that reach deep into our collective consciousness. An Ordinary Future is a timely and compelling reminder of how important it is to critically revisit the past to understand the present and envision future possibilities."—Aaron J. Jackson, author of Worlds of Care: The Emotional Lives of Fathers Caring for Children with Disabilities
"Pearson's research is omnivorous, and the anthropological framework that he applies to both his life events and the history of disability is clarifying. An Ordinary Future is honest, sharing painful experiences that do not flinch from admitting unflattering thoughts. This work isn't just about scholarship, but about telling a valuable story. Pearson has done this."—Chris Kaposy, author of Choosing Down Syndrome: Ethics and New Prenatal Testing Technologies
"[A] moving meditation on difference, disability, and humanity. In 2015, when his newborn daughter, Michaela, was diagnosed with Down syndrome, [Pearson] and his wife were shocked. Soon, though, he asked himself whether that initial response was generated by ideas about normalcy deeply embedded in the culture. . . . Sensitive reflections on human value."
Kirkus Reviews
"In a new book, an anthropologist and father of three, including a daughter with Down syndrome, reflects on the pressures of parenting."
Sapiens
"Overall, this book does not shy away from difficult content and debates, providing ample opportunity to grapple with questions of positionality, the past, present, and future of anthropology, and the way society treats disabled citizens. With its rich combination of personal narrative, history of anthropology, and historical ethnography, this book is likely to be of interest to a wide variety of students, both undergraduate and graduate, and scholars at various levels in both anthropology and disability studies."
Medical Anthropology Quarterly
An Ordinary Future is a deeply moving work that weaves an account of Margaret Mead's path to disability rights activism with one anthropologist's experience as the parent of a child with Down syndrome. With this book, Thomas W. Pearson confronts the dominant ideas, disturbing contradictions, and dramatic transformations that have shaped our perspectives on disability over the last century.
Pearson examines his family's story through the lens of Mead's evolving relationship to disability—a topic once so stigmatized that she advised Erik Erikson to institutionalize his son, born with Down syndrome in 1944. Over the course of her career, Mead would become an advocate for disability rights and call on anthropology to embrace a wider understanding of humanity that values diverse bodies and minds. Powerful and personal, An Ordinary Future reveals why this call is still relevant in the ongoing fight for disability justice and inclusion, while shedding light on the history of Down syndrome and how we raise children born different.
Preface
1. Becoming
2. Features
3. Institutions
4. Potential
5. Belonging 1
6. Vulnerability
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
"Pearson illustrates the depths of disability negation that reach deep into our collective consciousness. An Ordinary Future is a timely and compelling reminder of how important it is to critically revisit the past to understand the present and envision future possibilities."—Aaron J. Jackson, author of Worlds of Care: The Emotional Lives of Fathers Caring for Children with Disabilities
"Pearson's research is omnivorous, and the anthropological framework that he applies to both his life events and the history of disability is clarifying. An Ordinary Future is honest, sharing painful experiences that do not flinch from admitting unflattering thoughts. This work isn't just about scholarship, but about telling a valuable story. Pearson has done this."—Chris Kaposy, author of Choosing Down Syndrome: Ethics and New Prenatal Testing Technologies