Keller Freakery Eugenics PDF

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Discussion questions—forum on ICON Kim Nielsen “Helen Keller and the Politics of Civic Fitness” Disability is a threat to civic order Writes well, remarkable individual Advantages: you would not be able to tell that she’s disabled She has to tell you she’s disabled, when you interact with Helen Keller it’s on her terms She’s already an American citizen- operating within a tradition of descent Not an evolutionary throwback- activist Deaf and blind Born 1880 in Alabama- post civil war Civil war over for 15 years Born in Northwest Alabama Parents owned cotton plantation- perfect candidate to show off America’s technological progress Mom contacted Alexander Graham Bell and they contacted Perkins Institute War torn- poverty-stricken area Turn of century “New south” Narrative of “national progress”- concerned about political revolution Progress towards a materialistic future- technology Taught by Anne Sullivan 1890s: Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts “Home of progress” “Advanced thinkers” Media construction Good opportunity to test stuff about degeneration Degeneration: evolution can go backwards People in the 19th century, 1859 when Darwin published Origin of Species, if descent with modification is true- it’s true for all organisms universally Always going to expand to the limit of our food supply, heavy pressure on every organism to survive, because of heavy pressure, only best are going to survive Human beings are products of pressure Human being in its natural state is: resemble earliest ancestors No language? Ape-like Darwin’s theory has a big problem: organisms are always expanding upon the limit of food supply, therefore the fittest always supply Modern doesn’t work like that, our food supply is huge, nobody is starving, and anyone has starved to death in 20th century, unless forced Fittest aren’t breeding, unfittest aren’t breeding

We have over evolved to the point where people with glasses can survive We’re starting to see insanity- bad eyes, bad hearing, people going bald Helen keller doesn’t know how to act properly because she can’t see/hear it. How is she going to behave? Is she the human in its natural state? Going to tell us something about Darwin’s theory whether he’s right or wrong Can see what a human in its natural state is like Philosophers believe humans have a moral sense Danger to society and narrative for progress Helen Keller is constructed- people don’t care what she wrote about Feminist activist- gender more limiting than her disability Hypocrite: not all pwd get to go to private school Media construction- everyone who knows about her knows through a media narrative Why don’t we read about it? “Normal” can function in our society People didn’t find her arguments credible- discredited herself Money- feminism was a racket, in it for the money, wasn’t getting paid so she went back to the school because they offered money 1920: Amendment to Constitution, Women to vote, prohibition Blind activist but not deaf activist? Forbidden Signs, Douglas Baynton Religious: miraculous that she can read and write Give vote to women, have to give civil rights to Blacks-

Freakery Public charge- can’t support themselves Have no agency- our interactions with them are on our terms Disability is pathological- you can catch it (leads to active eugenics) Eugenics Sterilizing the unfit During 1930s- hottest thinking progressive was Eugenics Forward thinking- acceptable Why is it wrong?...