•  
  •  
 

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Chau Kelly, Associate Professor

Faculty Mentor Department

History

Abstract

This project argues that disability and physical difference were simultaneously both sensationalized and hidden in the United States and the United Kingdom, while also being overemphasized in non-Western countries, with the intention of evoking either revulsion, a sense of racial superiority, or pity, all of which was used as justification for Western imperialism. In order to make this argument, the project looks at varying attitudes and actions toward the disabled, physically different, and visibly ill in the U.K. and U.S.A., as well as the varying attitudes and actions toward the disabled, physically different, and visibly ill in the broader imperial scope. Understanding how ableism, racism, xenophobia, and paternalism are connected in this context allows for a better understanding of how proponents of imperialism, colonialism, and anti-immigration justified (and, often, are still justifying) these practices.

Download
COinS