General History
Subject: Attitudes towards disability in Anglosaxon England - an examination of the cultural and social attitudes towards the disabled, and the expression of disability in daily life of disabled people
Supervisor: Prof. Esther Cohen
Abstract: What were Anglo-Saxon perceptions of impairment and disability, and how did they effect the lived realities of impaired people? In my dissertation I examine questions of inclusion and exclusion, agency and personhood, lived realities, and cultural constructions of impairment in various spheres - personal, social, religious, and political - in order to better understand Anglo-Saxon views on impairment and disability. I show that common attitudes were inclusive and maintained the personhood, agency, and participation of impaired people in society, alongside positive cultural representations which caused, and resulted from, those inclusive attitudes.
Polonsky Stipend 2013/14