Normality

A Critical Genealogy

Nonfiction, History, France, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Normality by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens ISBN: 9780226484198
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: December 1, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
ISBN: 9780226484198
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: December 1, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

The concept of *normal *is so familiar that it can be hard to imagine contemporary life without it. Yet the term entered everyday speech only in the mid-twentieth century. Before that, it was solely a scientific term used primarily in medicine to refer to a general state of health and the orderly function of organs. But beginning in the middle of the twentieth century, normal broke out of scientific usage, becoming less precise and coming to mean a balanced condition to be maintained and an ideal to be achieved. 

In Normality, Peter Cryle and Elizabeth Stephens offer an intellectual and cultural history of what it means to be normal. They explore the history of how communities settle on any one definition of the norm, along the way analyzing a fascinating series of case studies in fields as remote as anatomy, statistics, criminal anthropology, sociology, and eugenics. Cryle and Stephens argue that since the idea of normality is so central to contemporary disability, gender, race, and sexuality studies, scholars in these fields must first have a better understanding of the context for normality. This pioneering book moves beyond binaries to explore for the first time what it does—and doesn’t—mean to be normal.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The concept of *normal *is so familiar that it can be hard to imagine contemporary life without it. Yet the term entered everyday speech only in the mid-twentieth century. Before that, it was solely a scientific term used primarily in medicine to refer to a general state of health and the orderly function of organs. But beginning in the middle of the twentieth century, normal broke out of scientific usage, becoming less precise and coming to mean a balanced condition to be maintained and an ideal to be achieved. 

In Normality, Peter Cryle and Elizabeth Stephens offer an intellectual and cultural history of what it means to be normal. They explore the history of how communities settle on any one definition of the norm, along the way analyzing a fascinating series of case studies in fields as remote as anatomy, statistics, criminal anthropology, sociology, and eugenics. Cryle and Stephens argue that since the idea of normality is so central to contemporary disability, gender, race, and sexuality studies, scholars in these fields must first have a better understanding of the context for normality. This pioneering book moves beyond binaries to explore for the first time what it does—and doesn’t—mean to be normal.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Essays on Sex Equality by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Kwaito's Promise by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Writing Abroad by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book When Egypt Ruled the East by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Custer's Last Stand by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Cat Musculature by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Worldly Consumers by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book No Exit by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book The Enigma of Diversity by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Abundant Earth by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Sophocles I by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Modernity and the Jews in Western Social Thought by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Ain't Love Grand! by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Landscapes of Accumulation by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
Cover of the book Theory and Practice by Peter Cryle, Elizabeth Stephens
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy