Histories of the Normal and the Abnormal: Social and cultural histories of norms and normativity (Routledge Studies in t by Waltraud Ernst

Description

This fascinating volume tackles the history of the terms 'normal' and 'abnormal'. Originally meaning 'as occurring in nature', normality has taken on significant cultural gravitas and this book recognizes and explores that fact. The essays engage with the concepts of the normal and the abnormal from the perspectives of a variety of academic disciplines - ranging from art history to social history of medicine, literature, and science studies to sociology and cultural anthropology. The show more contributors use as their conceptual anchors the works of moral and political philosophers such as Ca show less