Broken: Institutions, Families, and the Construction of Intellectual Disability

by Madeline C. Burghardt

Overview

After 133 years of operation, the 2009 closure of Ontario's government-run institutions for people with intellectual disabilities has allowed accounts of those affected to emerge. Madeline Burghardt draws from narratives of institutional survivors, their siblings, and their parents to examine the far-reaching consequences of institutionalization due to intellectual difference. Beginning with a thorough history of the rise of institutions as a system to manage difference, Broken provides an overview of the development of institutions in Ontario and examines the socio-political conditions leading to families' decisions to institutionalize their children. Through this exploration, other themes emerge, including the historical and arbitrary construction of intellectual disability and the resulting segregation of those considered a threat to the well-being of the family and society; the overlap between institutionalization and the workings of capitalism; and contemporaneous practices of segregation in Canadian history, such as Indian residential schools. Drawing from people's direct, lived experiences, the second half of the book gathers poignant accounts of institutionalization's cascading effects on family relationships and understandings of disability, ranging from stories of personal loss and confusion to family breakage. Adding to a growing body of work addressing Canada's treatment of historically marginalized peoples, Broken exposes the consequences of policy based on socio-political constructions of disability and difference, and of the fundamentally unjust premise of institutionalization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773554832
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	12/30/2018
Series:	McGill-Queen's Associated Medical Services Studies in the History of Medicine, Health, and Society , #50
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	262
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Madeline C. Burghardt teaches disability studies at King’s College at the University of Western Ontario.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

A Note on Terminology xiii

Introduction: The Asylum's Accomplice, or the Creation of Intellectual Disability 3

Part 1 Institutionalization in Context 11

1 Institutions for the Feebleminded: Theory, History, and Context 13

2 Ontario's Institutional Legacy 44

3 Choosing to Institutionalize: Politics, Families, and the Pressures of Cold War Conformity 65

Part 2 Stories 83

4 Survivors: "It wrecked me sadly" 85

5 Siblings: "He was a secret" 107

6 Parents 132

7 Former Staff and Key Informants 154

Part 3 Conclusions 183

8 Power, Governance, and the Construction of Intellectual Disability 185

Conclusion 204

Appendices 209

Notes 215

References 223

Index 237

Editorial Reviews

By choosing to prioritize the experiences of those institutionalized, Burghardt is able to highlight histories that are rarely able to be told. While it is obvious that this book also contributes to the histories of childhood, family, and medicine, I would also recommend it to those who study the creation of “normal” during the Cold War era. This is a strong first book, and I look forward to seeing what Burghardt does with her next project.” Ontario History


“A must-read for scholars of disability studies and institutional history, as well as anyone interested in disability policy, oral history and memory studies, and the role of scholarship and truth-telling in achieving social justice." Nursing History Review


“A high-quality, thoughtful contribution to disability studies, Burghardt’s work brings multiple analytical frames of intersectionality to bear on the institutionalization of disabled people in Ontario and surfaces many questions that could be the subject of further historical investigations.” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History


“In Broken: Institutions, Families, and the Construction of Intellectual Disability, Madeline Burghardt tackles the complex legacy of institutionalization head-on, centering the lived experiences of survivors and their families while challenging received narratives of institutional history. Interweaving historical data, critical theory, and survivor accounts, Burghardt skillfully offers readers a rich monograph that is both thoughtful and provocative.” Disability Studies Quarterly


"Burghardt illuminates the vastly divergent perspectives of those who experienced institutionalization, and the role of power in shaping these experiences, ultimately finding that those with the least power suffered the most extensive negative effects and experienced institutionalization as an oppressive force. A thoughtful and well-developed study." Allison Carey, Shippensburg University

From the Publisher