Coming up in October
Disability & the American Past Join us and speakers from around the country for a multi-perspective examination of disability in the American past. Through panel conversations, presentations, and discussion, we will introduce the field of disability history; investigate some major research areas in the field such as activism, material culture, medical history, technology, citizenship; and provide a forum to examine new, emerging scholarship. Learn more and register for these programs at www.masshist.org/events. Thursday, 7 October | 5:30 PM | Panel Discussion An Introduction to Disability History Beth Linker, University of Pennsylvania; Kim E. Nielson, University of Toledo; Rabia Belt, Stanford Law School; moderated by Naomi Rogers, Yale School of Medicine Our panelists will present a brief overview of the field of disability history and examine the foundational and emerging scholarship through a moderated, roundtable discussion with our panelists. Tuesday, 12 October | 5:15 PM | Seminar “This milestone in their development as property”: Black Developmental Normalcy & White Developmental Disorder in Early Child Medicine, 1820– 1865, US Kelsey Henry, Yale University; commenter TBA This paper investigates “developmental asynchrony,” the mismatch be-tween a sexually overdeveloped body and an underdeveloped mind, as a sign of racial degeneration fueled by sexual disorder in early child medicine. This is part of the History of Women, Gender & Sexuality Seminar series. Saturday, 16 October | 1:00 PM | Seminar Her Socialist Smile: a Film Screening John Gianvito, Emerson College; Carolyn Forché, Georgetown University; and moderator Megan Marshall In his new film, John Gianvito meditates on a particular moment in early 20th-century history: when Helen Keller began speaking out on behalf of progressive causes. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion and a reception. This is part of the New England Biography series. 12
