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Disability and culture
1934
Book Reviews
testing. The latter topic is a sensitive one which raises a number of civil rights issues. Anybody seriously interested in the subject of how alcohol and work are sometimes connected would find much in this report that is useful, and something that is new. The authors are to be commended for their efforts. It is to be
hoped that the World Health Organization will manage to market this as widely as it deserves.
Disability and Culture, edited by Benedicte lngstad and Susan Reynolds Whyte. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1995. 307 pp., U.S.$40 (cloth), $15 (paper).
causality provide grist for both academicians as well as pragmatists. As several contributors point out, rehabilitation and medical programs continue to rise, flounder and fall because they rely upon Western ideals and assumptions. Although each chapter focuses on a different cultural setting and various disabilities, the book is unified by intermittent reference to existing theories of disability, examining their usefulness as well as their limitations. To the theoretical perspectives of Goffman, Murphy, Zola, this book adds the as-yet untranslated work of French scholar Henri-Jacques Stiker. The book is not without flaws. Precariously questionable terminology is scattered throughout the book ("impairments," "retarded"). Chapters are uneven in their writing and research documentation, and inclusion of some chapters seems forced. A chapter on textual analysis of autobiographical accounts of persons with multiple sclerosis seems particularly out-of-place--not because it focuses on Europeans and North Americans, but because it decontextualizes these people's lives. This chapter defies the very logic of the book by trying to subsume people with the same condition into a single comprehensive analysis despite the fact that each of these people lived in very disparate cultures (Great Britain, Belgium, North America, Germany, New Zealand) not to mention their disparate individual circumstances. Similarly, Robert Murphy's chapter, although insightful and well-written, is often overdrawn when he attempts to universalize the experiences of all people with disabilities. There is also a fair amount of social science jargon which is less a concern for social scientists than for one of the books targeted audiences: people with disabilities themselves. Aside from those persons with disabilities who are also social scientists, the important lessons of the book may be lost on a wider audience. Disability studies has frequently been relegated to the fringes of various disciplines--mirroring the often marginal status of persons with disabilities. Disability and Culture makes an important contribution by shifting the emphasis back to the broader issues of personhood, family and social interaction. Only by understanding the social and cultural contexts can the sometimes incidental, sometimes devastating consequences of variations on the human condition be more fully appreciated. Like myriad definitions of culture, we can now add another term, disability, recognizing that the aim is not to arrive at a universal definition, but to maintain a tenuous balance between the search for commonality and an appreciation of difference. This book underscores what many people with disabilities have contended all along: they are people first. Disability and Culture moves the growing scholarship on disability to an important next step by reminding us that disability itself is a cultural construct and the category, meaning and implications of particular human conditions must be understood in terms of the values and purposes of social life.
Disability and Culture is not merely a collection of studies on disability in different cultural settings. It is a far more ambitious and groundbreaking work. Instead of simply scrutinizing the experiences of those with disabilities around the globe, the book examines the very premise of "disability"~demonstrating how disability as a category and as an identity is highly variable and, in some cases, meaningless, Editors Benedicte Ingstad and Susan Reynolds Whyte have done a skilful job in broadening the geographical as well as theoretical scope of disability studies, reminding even anthropologists of their cultural biases. Until now, there has been very little published research on the social and cultural dimensions of disability in non-Western cultures. The wait is over, and this book should find a welcome audience in the social sciences, medicine and rehabilitation. Disability and Culture is comprised of two main sections and an epilogue. Each of the five chapters in the first section examine the relationship between personhood and disability in different cultural settings. Through such examples of the Punan Bah of Borneo and the Kenya Maasai, contributors examine the interplay of what it means to be human in these communities as well as expected patterns of social interaction--all of which contribute to the significance and the implications of apparent sensory, physical or mental disabilities. The seven chapters in the second section shift to an exploration of the experiences and interpretations of those who may be considered disabled--ranging from blind women in Uganda to disabled war heroes in Nicaragua. Finally, the epilogue provides an excellent discussion of theoretical and analytical issues of disability and culture, and suggests a number of directions for future research. The book explores contrasting cultural emphases on individual abilities and achievements versus social (often familial) relationships with others. The authors are careful not to overly dichotomize these emphases, and judiciously caution readers about overgeneralizing and stereotyping. As the editors point out, even social scientists have created barriers to those with disabilities by reifying their status without acknowledging or exploring the possibilities of discourse, transcendence or change. Chapters on the struggles of a migrant Turkish mother in Sweden and the family of a developmentally disabled man in Botswana beset by rehabilitation experts are particularly noteworthy in underscoring the fluidity, variability and complexity of disability and culture. Throughout the book, we are encouraged to reassess our assumptions about disability--from issues more familiar in Western culture (stigma, liminality, equality) to presumed responses to disability in non-Western cultures (infanticide, isolation, contagion). Reflecting the anthropological background of the editors and contributors, Disability and Culture frequently provides readers with two perspectives on disability: one on a given cultural community, and one which reflects back upon Western perspectives. Discussions about such issues as compensation, rehabilitation, cure and
Ak'ohol & Health Research Group, The Un&ersiO, q/" Edinburgh, Edinburgh, U.K.
National Research and Training Center: Families of Adults with Disabilities 2198 Sixth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 U.S.A.
Martin Plant
Paul Preston
Book Reviews
testing. The latter topic is a sensitive one which raises a number of civil rights issues. Anybody seriously interested in the subject of how alcohol and work are sometimes connected would find much in this report that is useful, and something that is new. The authors are to be commended for their efforts. It is to be
hoped that the World Health Organization will manage to market this as widely as it deserves.
Disability and Culture, edited by Benedicte lngstad and Susan Reynolds Whyte. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1995. 307 pp., U.S.$40 (cloth), $15 (paper).
causality provide grist for both academicians as well as pragmatists. As several contributors point out, rehabilitation and medical programs continue to rise, flounder and fall because they rely upon Western ideals and assumptions. Although each chapter focuses on a different cultural setting and various disabilities, the book is unified by intermittent reference to existing theories of disability, examining their usefulness as well as their limitations. To the theoretical perspectives of Goffman, Murphy, Zola, this book adds the as-yet untranslated work of French scholar Henri-Jacques Stiker. The book is not without flaws. Precariously questionable terminology is scattered throughout the book ("impairments," "retarded"). Chapters are uneven in their writing and research documentation, and inclusion of some chapters seems forced. A chapter on textual analysis of autobiographical accounts of persons with multiple sclerosis seems particularly out-of-place--not because it focuses on Europeans and North Americans, but because it decontextualizes these people's lives. This chapter defies the very logic of the book by trying to subsume people with the same condition into a single comprehensive analysis despite the fact that each of these people lived in very disparate cultures (Great Britain, Belgium, North America, Germany, New Zealand) not to mention their disparate individual circumstances. Similarly, Robert Murphy's chapter, although insightful and well-written, is often overdrawn when he attempts to universalize the experiences of all people with disabilities. There is also a fair amount of social science jargon which is less a concern for social scientists than for one of the books targeted audiences: people with disabilities themselves. Aside from those persons with disabilities who are also social scientists, the important lessons of the book may be lost on a wider audience. Disability studies has frequently been relegated to the fringes of various disciplines--mirroring the often marginal status of persons with disabilities. Disability and Culture makes an important contribution by shifting the emphasis back to the broader issues of personhood, family and social interaction. Only by understanding the social and cultural contexts can the sometimes incidental, sometimes devastating consequences of variations on the human condition be more fully appreciated. Like myriad definitions of culture, we can now add another term, disability, recognizing that the aim is not to arrive at a universal definition, but to maintain a tenuous balance between the search for commonality and an appreciation of difference. This book underscores what many people with disabilities have contended all along: they are people first. Disability and Culture moves the growing scholarship on disability to an important next step by reminding us that disability itself is a cultural construct and the category, meaning and implications of particular human conditions must be understood in terms of the values and purposes of social life.
Disability and Culture is not merely a collection of studies on disability in different cultural settings. It is a far more ambitious and groundbreaking work. Instead of simply scrutinizing the experiences of those with disabilities around the globe, the book examines the very premise of "disability"~demonstrating how disability as a category and as an identity is highly variable and, in some cases, meaningless, Editors Benedicte Ingstad and Susan Reynolds Whyte have done a skilful job in broadening the geographical as well as theoretical scope of disability studies, reminding even anthropologists of their cultural biases. Until now, there has been very little published research on the social and cultural dimensions of disability in non-Western cultures. The wait is over, and this book should find a welcome audience in the social sciences, medicine and rehabilitation. Disability and Culture is comprised of two main sections and an epilogue. Each of the five chapters in the first section examine the relationship between personhood and disability in different cultural settings. Through such examples of the Punan Bah of Borneo and the Kenya Maasai, contributors examine the interplay of what it means to be human in these communities as well as expected patterns of social interaction--all of which contribute to the significance and the implications of apparent sensory, physical or mental disabilities. The seven chapters in the second section shift to an exploration of the experiences and interpretations of those who may be considered disabled--ranging from blind women in Uganda to disabled war heroes in Nicaragua. Finally, the epilogue provides an excellent discussion of theoretical and analytical issues of disability and culture, and suggests a number of directions for future research. The book explores contrasting cultural emphases on individual abilities and achievements versus social (often familial) relationships with others. The authors are careful not to overly dichotomize these emphases, and judiciously caution readers about overgeneralizing and stereotyping. As the editors point out, even social scientists have created barriers to those with disabilities by reifying their status without acknowledging or exploring the possibilities of discourse, transcendence or change. Chapters on the struggles of a migrant Turkish mother in Sweden and the family of a developmentally disabled man in Botswana beset by rehabilitation experts are particularly noteworthy in underscoring the fluidity, variability and complexity of disability and culture. Throughout the book, we are encouraged to reassess our assumptions about disability--from issues more familiar in Western culture (stigma, liminality, equality) to presumed responses to disability in non-Western cultures (infanticide, isolation, contagion). Reflecting the anthropological background of the editors and contributors, Disability and Culture frequently provides readers with two perspectives on disability: one on a given cultural community, and one which reflects back upon Western perspectives. Discussions about such issues as compensation, rehabilitation, cure and
Ak'ohol & Health Research Group, The Un&ersiO, q/" Edinburgh, Edinburgh, U.K.
National Research and Training Center: Families of Adults with Disabilities 2198 Sixth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 U.S.A.
Martin Plant
Paul Preston