A Brief History of Infectious Disease, Disability and Racial Conceptions of ‘Healthy Citizens’

This presentation will provide an overview of how xenophobia and ableism has historically been a part of responses to outbreaks of infectious diseases in western society. From Christians scapegoating Jews and people with leprosy during medieval plagues to white people blaming east Asians during epidemics/pandemics in more recent times, this presentation will provide a brief summary of how racist and ableist concepts of “healthy citizens” has a long and dubious history in which the most privileged in society sought to cast out those with the least power based on conceptions of race, ethnicity, disability and class. There will also be reference to how some people have resisted these attacks and sought to re-orient the focus away from targeting marginalized populations

The Place of Mad People and Disabled People in Canadian Historiography: Surveys, Biographies, and Specialized Fields

This article will consider the extent to which mad and disabled people’s histories have, or have not, been included in studies of Canada’s past, including in surveys, biographies and specialized fields. The purpose is to understand when, where and how people deemed mad or disabled have been excluded or included in broader discussions of Canadian history and how the recent growth of mad people’s history and disability history in Canada can influence historiographical developments. There will also be a discussion of how both fields are directly related since people deemed mad were and are to this day categorized under the broad scope of disability, just as are people with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities. Consideration will also be given to how this field of inter-disciplinary research has benefited from work by researchers who do not necessarily identify as historians in either field but whose work has contributed to these areas, such as through the scholarship of medical historians. The ultimate aim of this paper is to advocate for mad and disabled people’s histories to become incorporated more widely beyond these specialized fields when interpreting Canada’s past.Cet article considère dans quelle mesure les histoires des gens handicapés ou ayant des maladies mentales ont été incluses dans les études sur le passé du Canada, y compris dans les enquêtes, biographies et champs spécialisés. L’objectif ici est de comprendre quand, où et comment les gens jugés fous ou handicapés ont été exclus ou inclus dans les discussions générales sur l’histoire canadienne et de quelle façon les développements récents de l’histoire des handicaps physiques ou mentaux au Canada peuvent influencer les développements historiographiques. On y trouvera également une discussion sur le lien direct entre ces deux champs puisque les gens jugés fous entraient et entrent jusqu’à ce jour dans le large périmètre du handicap, tout comme les gens ayant des déficiences physiques, sensorielles ou intellectuelles. On considérera également la façon dont ce champ de recherche interdisciplinaire a bénéficié des travaux de chercheurs qui ne se définissent pas nécessairement comme historiens dans chaque champ, mais dont le travail a contribué à ces domaines, comme par exemple les travaux sur l’histoire médicale. L’objectif ultime de cet article est de plaider pour que l’histoire des handicapés physiques et mentaux soit intégrée plus largement, au-delà de ces champs de spécialisation, dans l’interprétation du passé canadien

Introduction to DSQ Theme Issue on Disability in Canada

No abstract availabl

999 Queen Street West: Patient Life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane, 1870-1940

grantor: University of TorontoThis study examines the individual experiences of people who were admitted to the Toronto Hospital for the Insane between 1870-1940 within the context of institutional practices and relationships. The purpose is to contribute to our understanding of psychiatric history by placing patients' perspectives and experiences at the forefront of historical inquiry instead of having them come second to the administrators who ran the hospitals. Clinical files are the main primary source used for this work. Letters written by patients during and after confinement form an essential part of this thesis. Observations left by third party observers such as family, friends and hospital staff also illustrate patient culture. This thesis is structured around themes that highlight the various stages of the lives of the men and women who populated 999 Queen Street West: diagnosis and admission; daily routine and daily relationships; patients' leisure and personal space; patients' labour; family and community responses to mental hospital patients; discharge and death. Above all else, the people whose voices and experiences make up this study show later generations that psychiatric patients have a great deal to teach us about what it was like to be confined in a mental institution and to live with the psychological troubles that brought them to 999 Queen Street West.Ph.D