Intellectual Disability - (Disability History) by Patrick McDonagh & C F Goodey & Timothy Stainton (Paperback)

This collection of essays provides a comprehensive exploration of the historical genealogy of intellectual disability, tracing its evolution from medieval times to the late-nineteenth century.

The book examines how concepts of intellectual disability emerged and evolved across various disciplines, including literary, educational, cultural, legal, religious, psychiatric, and philosophical histories.

By maintaining a rigorous distinction between historical and contemporary concepts, the authors demonstrate how these ideas were shaped by the prevailing social, cultural, and intellectual environments of their time.

The book also explores the consequences of these defining forces for the people who found themselves enclosed by the shifting definitional field.

With contributions from leading historians of ideas of intellectual disability, this collection is essential reading for scholars interested in the history of intelligence, intellectual disability, and related concepts, as well as in disability and social history generally.