Social Work Research: Ethical and Political Contexts Book

This collection of essays fulfills exactly what its editors set out to do: provide an overview of the concept of "mental retardation" (now "intellectual/cognitive disability") in the United states in the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes chapters on medical/social science developments, literary analysis and popular culture views, and the appearance of the disability rights movement in the later 20th century. Each section also includes an interesting representative primary source from a historical actor of each era, from Howe to Kennedy and more. The tip of an iceberg which needs much more excavation, but perhaps the most useful historical primer introduction to this topic.