Skip to main content
Historical Bibliography Updated: June 16, 2026

Corps infirmes et sociétés : Essais d'anthropologie historique.

Publication Details

Paris: Éditions Aubier Montaigne, 1982 CE.

Translated into English by William Sayers as A history of disability. New foreward by David T. Mitchel and Sharon L. Snyder.  Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2019.

"The first book to attempt to provide a framework for analyzing disability through the ages, Henri-Jacques Stiker's now classic A History of Disability traces the history of western cultural responses to disability, from ancient times to the present. The sweep of the volume is broad; from a rereading and reinterpretation of the Oedipus myth to legislation regarding disability, Stiker proposes an analytical history that demonstrates how societies reveal themselves through their attitudes towards disability in unexpected ways.  Through this history, Stiker examines a fundamental issue in contemporary Western discourse on disability: the cultural assumption that equality/sameness/similarity is always desired by those in society. He highlights the consequences of such a mindset, illustrating the intolerance of diversity and individualism that arises from placing such importance on equality.  Working against this thinking, Stiker argues that difference is not only acceptable, but that it is desirable, and necessary" (publisher).
 

Catalog MetadataReference Information
Entry Number#14189
Permanent Linkhttps://hom-sveltekit.fly.dev/entry/16505
Author Bio LinkWikipedia ↗
External URLcorps-infirmes-et-socits-essais-danthropologie-historique

Geographic Context

Publication place: Paris

Mentioned in annotation: Ann Arbor, MI