An Ordinary Future: Margaret Mead, the Problem of Disability, and a Child Born Different

In An Ordinary Future, Thomas W. Pearson explores evolving ideas of disability and human difference through the lens of his family's experience with Down syndrome and Margaret Mead's advocacy for disability rights.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 222 pages
Publication date: 05 September 2023
Publisher: University of California Press

This captivating portrayal of modern parenting seamlessly blends memoir and cultural analysis to delve into the evolving notions of disability and human diversity. An Ordinary Future is a profoundly poignant work that interweaves the author's journey toward becoming a disability rights advocate with the experiences of an anthropologist who is the parent of a child with Down syndrome. Through this book, Thomas W. Pearson challenges the prevailing notions, unsettling contradictions, and remarkable transformations that have shaped our understanding of disability throughout the past century. Pearson delves into his family's narrative by examining Margaret Mead's evolving relationship with disability, a topic once so stigmatized that she even advised Erik Erikson to institutionalize his son, born with Down syndrome in 1944. Over the course of her illustrious career, Mead would emerge as a staunch advocate for disability rights and urge anthropology to embrace a broader perspective that values diverse bodies and minds. An Ordinary Future is a powerful and deeply personal exploration, shedding light on why this call remains pertinent in the ongoing struggle for disability justice and inclusion while also providing a historical backdrop of Down syndrome and the approaches employed in raising children who differ from the norm.

Weight: 312g
Dimension: 153 x 230 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520388291