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      *    HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF DISABILITIES NEWSLETTER  *
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      *    No. 4  Fall 1991  (Electronic Version)           *
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Contents:

Item 1  - INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS POSTPONED UNTIL 1993
Item 2  - ARTICLE - The Sad Story of a Mentally Handicapped
          Cannibal
Item 3  - WOMEN AND DISABILITY: A BIBLIOGRAPHY
Item 4  - BOOK REVIEW: Diane Driedger's The Last Civil Rights
          Movement: Disabled Peoples' International.
Item 5  - BOOKS IN BRIEF: History of the Cane; History of the
          Deaf Community in the United States
Item 6  - NETWORKING: Gerontology Conference; Help Needed on
          History of Disability Movement in Jamaica; Related
          Organizations and Newsletters
Item 7  - TORONTO SEMINAR SERIES ON SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH
Item 8  - FREE REPORTS ON DEAF STUDENTS AVAILABLE
Item 9  - RESEARCH: Quality of Life Research; Electronic
          Resources Wanted
Item 10 - ART IMAGES OF DISABLED PERSONS WANTED
Item 11 - THIRD ANNUAL SEMINAR ON CURRENT RESEARCH ON THE HISTORY
          OF DISABILITIES - Univ. of Buffalo, Nov. 15
Item 12 - ALTER - INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF
          DISABILITIES, HANDICAPS AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Item 13 - SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION




(1) INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS POSTPONED UNTIL 1993

The first international congress on the history of disabilities,
handicaps and social problems, sponsored by ALTER and slated for
Lancaster, England in September 1992 has been postponed until a
yet unspecified date in 1993. As well, the location of the 1993
congress has not been decided. These developments arose when
Professor Sally Tomlinson, designated chair of the congress at
the University of Lancaster, received a new academic post at the
University of Wales in Swansea. Without a local person at
Lancaster with responsibility for the congress, it was decided to
cancel that venue. There was some hope of changing to location of
the 1992 conference to either Aberdeen, Scotland or Paris,
France. However, in a recent meeting of ALTER's Board of
Directors, it was decided that there was not sufficient time to
organize a 1992 congress, and that it would have to be held in
1993. The exact time and place will be decided upon in
organizational meetings in the next few months.

As a preparation for the 1993 congress, a smaller regional
seminar will be held in Paris in 1992. Papers will presented and
plans finalized for the international gathering the next year.
Details will be announced in the next newsletter, or write to:
Catherine Barral-Reiner, Secretary of ALTER, CTNERHI, 2, rue
Auguste Comte, 92170 Vanves, France.


(2) ARTICLE - The Sad Story of a Mentally Handicapped Cannibal

Wolf Wolfensberger
Syracuse University

     In or shortly before 1603, in the countryside of what is now
the department of Landes along the Atlantic coast of southern
France (south of Bordeaux), several little girls and some dogs
had mysteriously vanished.  In 1603, a 13-year old shepherd girl
there complained to her parents that a boy of the same age by the
name of Jean Grenier, the son of a poor laborer in the village of
Saint Antoine de Pizon, was constantly telling her horror
stories, including that he had sold himself to the devil, was
occasionally transformed into a wolf, and had killed and devoured
many dogs and several small girls.

     One day, the girl returned home from the pastures in
tattered condition, and reported having been attacked by a wolf-
like hound.  She stated that she had fought him off, and then
fled for home, abandoning her sheep in terror.  At about the same
time, three other shepherd girls who were jointly tending their
sheep encountered Jean in emaciated condition and impoverished
attire, and he told them the same kinds of horror stories he had
told the other shepherd girl.

     At that point, the authorities were brought in, and the case
was taken up by the parliament of Bordeaux.  It turned out that
the boy had run away from home three months earlier, had done odd
jobs for various people, had often been discharged for neglect of
duties, and had wandered around the countryside begging.  After
interviewing the boy and various witnesses, the court concluded
that he had a mentality of 8 at most, and possibly of less than 7
or, in our language today, an IQ of at most about 60.  Even
though there was still widespread belief in werewolves among the
people, the boy's stories of lycanthropy and service to the devil
were rejected as fanciful and irrational, though credence was
given to the high likelihood that he had killed the missing girls
and dogs.  The boy was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment within
a monastery at Bordeaux, to be instructed in moral and Christian
obligations.  But the court also imposed the condition that he
was to be put to death if he tried to escape.  In the monastery,
he was observed devouring bloody and raw offal in a primitive
fashion.  Alas, in this case no Pedro Ponce de Leon, no Abb  de
l'Ep e, no Itard appeared, and the boy either failed to improve
his mentality, or even regressed.  When he died at the age of 20,
he was reported to be of very short stature, restless, withdrawn,
with a barren mind unable to comprehend the smallest things.

     On the basis of some of the testimony at the boy's hearing,
one strong hypothesis is that he had picked up some of his horror
stories from fearing such stories told by his father, and the
father's estranged wife.  However, the various facts and reports
seemed to fit well enough together to lead to the conclusion that
the boy had, in fact, attacked young girls, and, in the case of
the missing girls, killed them, and apparently even cannibalized
some.  Also, the boy appeared to have been so neglected and
starved that it is quite possible that he learned to eat raw
flesh, and perhaps found it easier to cannibalize little girls
than to catch and eat either game or domestic animals, other than
perhaps dogs.  Perhaps also having a dim notion of the wrongness
of his behaviour, the boy may have fantasized that he must have
sold himself to the devil to do these things.

     Stories such as these are, in my opinion, a backdrop to the
rich record of "wild child" lore, including that of "Wild Peter
of Hanover" in 1724, and the "wild boy of Aveyron" around 1800.
Also, much like the stories of the abandoned or rejected, and
mentally handicapped or disordered, "poor Toms" of the English
countryside from the Elizabethan age onward, the story here
illustrates the degenerate conditions to which (the usually more)
handicapped people can be reduced if either left to bad company,
or abandoned altogether.  The Jeans and poor Toms of today are so
often the socially inept mentally handicapped people dumped out
of institutions, or otherwise cut loose from supportive community
or caring supervision.  They no longer roam the countryside, but
are plentiful on city streets all over the United States.

Reference

Otten, C.F. (Ed.). (1986). A lycanthropy reader: Werewolves in
western culture.  Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

Note: Based on the two mentionings of this event by Otten (1986),
and the retelling of the story by Baring-Gould in Otten (p. 62-
68), based in its turn on an 1865 book on werewolves.


(3) WOMEN AND DISABILITY: A BIBLIOGRAPHY

During the past few years there has been an increased interest in
the topic of women and disabilities, particularly from a feminist
point of view. The bibliography below is offered as a starting
point for those interested in learning more about this area.

Asch, A., & Fine, M. (Eds.) (1988), Women with disabilities:
Essays in psychology, culture and politics. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press.

Asreal, Wilma. (1982) An approach to motherhood for disabled
women. Rehabilitation Literature, 43 (7-8).

Atkins, Bobbie. (1982) Vocational rehabilitation counselling for
women. Rehabilitation Literature, 43 (7-8).

Becker, Elle Friedman. (1978) Female sexuality following spinal
cord injury.Bloomington, Ill.: Accent Special Publications.

Bowe, Frank. (1984) Disabled women in America: a statistical
report drawn from Census Bureau data. Washington, DC.:
President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.

Boylan, Esther. (1991) Women and disability. London: Zed Books.

Browne, Susan, Connors, Debra, & Stern, Nanci. (Eds.) (1985) With
the Power of each Breath. Pittsburgh: Cleis Press.

Building community: a manual exploring issues of women and
disability. New York: Educational Equity Concepts, 1984.

Campling, Jo. (1979) Better Lives for Disabled Women. London:
Virago.

Campling, Jo. (1981) Images of ourselves: women with disabilities
talking. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Croxon John, Mary. (1988) The Vocational Rehabilitation of
Disabled Women in the European Community. Report to the
Commission of the European Community.

D'Aubin, April. (1987) Disabled women's issues: a COPOH
discussion paper. Winnipeg: Coalition of Provincial Organizations
of the Handicapped.

D'Aubin, April. (1988) Organizing back home. Winnipeg: Coalition
of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped.

Daily, A.L.T. (1979) Physically handicapped women. Counselling
Psychologist, 8.

Deegan, M.J., and Brooks, N.A. (Eds.) (1985), Women and
disability: The double Handicap.  New Brunswick, New Jersey:
Transaction Books.

Deegan, Mary Jo. (1987) Physically disabled women and new
directions in public policy, 1977-1987. Monticello, Ill.: Vance
Bibliographies.

Duffy, Yvonne. (1981) All things are possible. Ann Arbor, Mich.:
A.J. Gavin.

Gajerski-Cauley, Anne. (1989) Women, development and disability.
2nd ed. Winnipeg: Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the
Handicapped.

Hanson, Marie. (1985) Living outside inside, a disabled woman's
experience : towards a social and political perspective.
Berkeley, Calif.: Canterbury Press.

Harvey, Edward B. and Tepperman, Lorne. (1990) Selected
socio-economic consequences of disability for women in Canada.
Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Hillyer Davis, B. (1984) Women, disability and feminism: notes
towards a new theory. Frontiers, 8 (1).

International Rehabilitation Review. (1985) Special issue on
'Women and Disability: an overview of developments', Second
trimester.

Landis, Carney and Bolles, M. Marjorie. (1980) Personality and
sexuality of the physically handicapped woman. New York: Arno
Press.

Lonsdale, Susan. (1990). Women and Disability. Hampshire,
England: Macmillan.

Matthews, Gwyneth Ferguson. (1983) Voices from the shadows: women
with disabilities speak out. Toronto: Women's Educational Press.

Mudrick, N. (1983) Disabled women. Society, 20 (3).

Pearpoint, Jack. (1991) From behind the piano: the building of
Judith Snow's unique circle of friends. Toronto: Inclusion Press.

Perlman, L. and Arneson, K. (1982) Women and rehabilitation of
disabled persons: a report of the Sixth Mary E. Switzer Memorial
Seminar, May 1982. Alexandria, VA: National Rehabilitation
Association.

Phillips, Betty. (1990) Beyond my shattered dreams story.
Distributed by Betty Boudreau, Charlo, N.B.

Rousso, Harilyn, O'Malley, Susan, and Severance, Mary. (1988)
Disabled, female, and proud! stories of ten women with
disabilities. Boston: Exceptional Parent Press.

Safilios-Rothchild, Constantina. (1977) Discrimination against
disabled women. International Rehabilitation Review, 2(4).

Saxton, Marsha and Howe, Florence. (Eds.) (1987) With wings: an
anthology of literature by and about women with disabilities. New
York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York.

Shaul, S., Bogle, J.E., Norman, A. and Hale-Harbaugh, J. (1978)
Toward intimacy: family planning and sexuality concerns of
physically disabled women. New York: Human Sciences Press.

Stace, Sheila. (1986) Vocational rehabilitation for women with
disabilities. Geneva:  International Labour Office.

Thurman, K.S., (Ed.) (1985), Children of Handicapped Parents
Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Vash, Caroline. (1982) Employment issues for women with
disabilities. Rehabilitation Literature, 43 (7-8).

Venables, Katie. (1978) Within reach: providing family planning
services to physically disabled women. New York: Human Sciences
Press.

Wheeler, Kelly and Wirszilas, Gem. (1991) Visions of flight: a
journey of positive thought by and about women with disabilities.
Surrey, BC: K. Wheeler/Trabarni Productions.

Women and disabilities Conference: report on proceedings. Thunder
Bay: Ontario March of Dimes, 1985.

Women & disabilities: report on community workshops. Thunder Bay:
Ontario March of Dimes, 1986.

Women & disabilities: life in Northwestern Ontario. Thunder Bay:
Ontario March of Dimes, 1987.

Women and disability: the experience of physical disability among
women. St. Martin's Press: New York.

Note: Additions to this bibliography would be appreciated. Send
to Karen Blackford at address below.


Women and Disability Journal Issue Planned

Karen Blackford is seeking papers under the general topic of
Women and Disability (a) for a future edition of Canadian Women's
Studies, and (b) for a session at the Canadian Sociology and
Anthropology Association Conference in Prince Edward Island in
June 1992. Papers or proposals for papers can be sent to: Karen
Blackford, Graduate Sociology, 4th Floor Ross Building South,
York University, 4700 Keele Street, North York, Ontario, Canada
M3J 1P3



(4) BOOK REVIEW

Diane Driedger -The Last Civil Rights Movement: Disabled Peoples'
International.  London: C.Hurst & Company Ltd. & New York:
St.Martin's Press Inc. 1989

Reviewed by: Karen A. Blackford, York University

On initial inspection, Driedger's account of the formation of
Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) is impressive.  Acceptance
for publication in two publishing houses, the cover promises to
address an important area of history so far ignored.

     In purchasing the book, my personal interest was to find
assistance with researching the Jamaican cross-disabilities self
help movement. I wanted to understand the accommodation and
interplay between this self help movement and established power
structures, and the issues unique to disabled women in Jamaica.
I approached the book, therefore, with some fairly hefty
expectations.

     I was not disappointed.  Driedger outlines significant
events and personalities of the early self help organisations in
Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia/Pacific and
North America.  In the Caribbean, decolonisation and struggles
for independence laid the ground work for social reforms of the
1930's, 40's and 50's, and for protests against American
imperialism.  Young blind students in Jamaica established
organisations controlled by blind people in the 1970's, and the
Combined Disability Network (CDN) was finally formed in 1981.
The organisation succeeded in winning greater access to public
buildings and to public education.  Adapted housing, newsletters
and a radio show were also achieved.

     Tensions between established paternalistic organisations for
disabled persons and self help groups of disabled persons emerged
around the globe.  CDN addressed these tensions by a decision for
the self help group to continue lobbying the state, and to
provide services so long as they did not replicate services
provided elsewhere.  Eventually, CDN established a toy factory to
employ persons with disabilities and to fund other activities.
CDN also provides loans for small businesses of disabled persons
in conjunction with financial sponsorship of the Netherlands.
Since 1984, a self help group in Kingston Ontario has been
"twinned" with CDN in Kingston Jamaica.

     Women, the very poor, those with mental or emotional
handicaps and rural residents were poorly represented in the
early organisational years in most parts of the world.  This was
also true in Jamaica.  In 1987 a DPI development seminar funded
in part by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
encouraged some women to see their own place within the disabled
movement and to value their own skills.

     This publication began as the author's Master's Thesis in
history from the University of Manitoba.  Driedger has been an
"able bodied ally of the disabled persons movement" since working
with Henry Enns and Jim Derksen to organise the 1981 Singapore
DPI Founding World Conference in Singapore.  Because this is, in
part, her story, we feel the electricity in the air in 1980 when
disabled persons first decide to from DPI, breaking away from
Rehabilitation International (formed originally in 1922).  We are
given a glimpse of how and under what conditions the new shoe
string operation worked out of its Winnipeg headquarters to gain
funding and respect.  An imposing list of international
achievements and on going relationships with United Nations and
CIDA are described in detail.

     Quotations throughout the book add colour and authenticity.
Interviews with key participants, reports, letters and documents
from organisation files, many of which required translation, are
meticulously referenced.  A detailed index and bibliography is
supplemented by a list of reference notes at the end of each
chapter.  Extensive geographical areas are effectively covered
and a summary of most relevant economic and political currents
which set the scene for organisation in each area is provided.

     As a sociologist (rather than a historian), I would have
preferred a more thorough analysis of the events reported.  As a
researcher I note that many references are made to the office
files of DPI, and to the personal files of Henry Enns.  I hope
that for those of us who may wish to access primary sources in
order to do a more sociological analysis of events, these files
will also be made available.
     I am recommending to my local university, college and public
librarians that they purchase the book.  Driedger has provided an
important resource for academics, policy makers, and for persons
with disabilities in any country.  More such texts which
acknowledge the existence of self help organising by rather than
for persons with disabilities, and which recognise the
complexities involved in these social movements are needed.



(5) BOOKS IN BRIEF

History of the Cane

Daniel Koester has just written a masters thesis in the School of
Art at the University of Michigan on "The Cane: Historical and
Contemporary Symbolism and Design as a Stimulus for Future
Development". He may be contacted at: 508 N. Fifth Avenue, Ann
Arbor, Michigan, USA 48104.

History of the Deaf Community in the United States

A book on the history of the deaf community in the United States
was published in 1989 and recently reviewed by University of
Buffalo historian David Gerber in the Journal of Social History
(January 1991). A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community
in America, by John Vickery Van Cleve and Barry A. Crouch
(Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press) is written as an
"insider" history, making one of the few books on the history of
disabilities written by disabled people.


(6) NETWORKING

Gerontology Conference

The Canadian Association on Gerontology will hold their 20th
Annual Meeting in Toronto from October 24-27. Some sessions will
be on the history of gerontology. For more information call
Jennifer Schipper [phone].

Help Needed on History of Disability Movement in Jamaica

If you have literature or information on this topic please write
to: Karen Blackford, Graduate Sociology, 4th Floor Ross Building
South, York University, 4700 Keele Street, North York, Ontario,
Canada  M3J 1P3 or telephone [phone].

Related Organizations and Newsletters

Here are some organizations which may have some interest in the
history of disabilities.

A Sociology of Health and Illness Network has been formed at York
University in Toronto. For more information, call Dr. David
Lumsden, Bethune College, York University, 4700 Keele Street,
North York, Ontario, Canada  M3J 1P3  Telephone: [phone]
Ext. 66498.

CHEIRON - International Society for the History of the Behavioral
and Social Sciences has an annual conference in both Europe and
North America. For more information contact: Dr. Raymond Fancher,
Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street,
North York, Ontario, Canada  M3J 1P3

The Disability Studies Association publishes a newsletter, and
has an annual conference. For more information, contact: Dr.
Irving Zola, Brandeis University, Department of Sociology,
P.O. Box 9110, Waltham, MA 02254-9100, USA

The Luna Circle is a Toronto study group on the History of Mental
Health in Canada. For more information call Francoise Boudreau -
924-3123 or 960-0516, Lykke de la Cour - 960-1522, or Harvey
Simmons - 482-9790.


(7) SEMINAR SERIES ON SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

Note: For those outside the Toronto-Buffalo area, the folowing
information may be of interest as a list of contacts in specific
research areas.

The Department of Instruction and Special Education, Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) presents a seminar
series on *Alternative Perspectives on Special Education
Research*

All seminars are on Thursdays, 12.00-2.00 pm, in Room 6-287,
OISE, 252 Bloor Street, West, Toronto. Bring your lunch.

Sept. 26, 1991 - Dominique Velche (CTNERHI, Paris) -
Participatory Research with Developmentally Disabled Adults:
Problems and Prospects

Oct. 10, 1991 - Jill Bell (York) - Personal Narrative and
Language Learning

Oct. 31, 1991 - Karen Blackford (York) - Feminist Approaches to
Researching Caregiving and Chronically Ill Mothers

Nov. 14, 1991 - Barry Edginton (Winnipeg) - Architectural
Analysis of Space in Victorian Asylums

Nov. 28, 1991 - Ivan Brown (Centre for Health Promotion, U of
Toronto) - Integrating Diverse Research Methodologies: Assessing
the Quality of Life of Developmentally Disabled Persons

Jan. 16, 1992 - John Radford (York) - Geography and the Asylum

Jan. 23, 1992 - Lennart Nordenfelt (University of Link ping,
Sweden) - Action Theory Applied to Concepts of Disability

Jan. 30, 1992 - David Goode (City University of New York) - An
Ethnomethodological Approach to the Communication of Deaf-Blind
Children

Feb. 6, 1992 - Gary Woodill (Ryerson) - Foucault and the History
of Special Education

Feb. 20, 1992 -Liz Bredberg (OISE) - Is Ethics Research
Generalizable?

Feb. 27, 1992 -Monica Heller (OISE) - Theory and Practice in
Ethnographic Research

Mar. 5, 1992 - Stephen Katz (Trent) - The Social Construction of
Senility: Age as a Disability

Mar. 26, 1992 -Gordon Wells (OISE) - Action Research and Special
Education

Apr. 2, 1992 - John Kershner, Dan Keating, Merle Walhstrom (OISE)
- Ideological Assumptions of Statistical Analysis

Apr. 16, 1992 -Linda Siegel (OISE) - The Irrelevancy of IQ in
Special Education Research

For more information contact the seminar co-ordinators:
Dr. Esther Geva, Department of Instruction and Special Education,
OISE - 923-6641 ([e-mail])
Dr. Gary Woodill, School of Early Childhood Education, Ryerson -
979-5000 Ext. 4533 ([e-mail])


(8) FREE REPORTS ON DEAF STUDENTS AVAILABLE

The National Institute for the Deaf has 41 free (!) reports
available on deafness and deaf students. Write to:

Rochester Institute of Technology
National Institute for the Deaf
Division of Public Affairs
Lyndon Baines Johnson Building
Box 9887, Rochester, New York  14623-0887

Or, send this message to [e-mail]

        GET DEAFEDUC REPORTLST





(9) RESEARCH

Quality of Life Research at the Unversity of Toronto

A team of researchers at the Centre for Health Promotion at the
University of Toronto are developing indicators of the quality of
life of developmentally disabled persons. We are looking for any
"fugitive" literature on this topic such as assessment scales,
reports, conference papers, etc. Please send to: Dr. Ivan Brown,
Centre for Health Promotion, Univ. of Toronto, 100 College, Suite
207, Toronto, Ont. Canada M5G 1L5. On BITNET contact Ivan Brown
at [e-mail]


Electronic Resources for Social Work Wanted

I am presently compiling the Directory of Networked Resources for
Social Work Studies and am seeking information pertaining to any
networked (ie - available via Internet/Bitnet and affiliated
networks) resources that could potentially facilitate Social Work
studies.  Such resources would include Listserv Lists (Special
Interest Groups), online archives, electronic journals and
newsletters, and any relevant organizations that maintain an
Internet accessible e-mail address.

If you are aware of any such resources that should be included in
this Directory, please contact:

Natalie Strangelove
School of Social Work
Carleton University

<441495@UOTTAWA>
<[e-mail]>


(10) ART IMAGES OF DISABLED PERSONS WANTED

A computer data base of art works which depict disabled persons
is nearing completion. Over 1600 works of art are listed, along
with location, a description, and the type(s) of disability(ies)
shown. We are looking for anyone who has compiled a similar list
to help us add to the collection. In exchange, contributors will
receive a pre-publication copy of the museum guide to this art.
Articles or references on art and disability would also be
welcomed. Send material to: Liz Bredberg, Department of
Instruction and Special Education, OISE, 252 Bloor Street,
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6 or [e-mail]


(11) SEMINAR NOTICE

    The History of Disabilities Network Presents the

             THIRD ANNUAL SEMINAR ON
   CURRENT RESEARCH ON THE HISTORY OF DISABILITIES

University of Buffalo, November 15, 1992, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM

This seminar is an informal set of presentations of work in
progress on the history of disabilities. There are short talks
followed by discussion on the work presented. The conference
centre at the University of Buffalo is wheelchair accessible, and
there are several hotels and restaurants across the road for
those who wish to arrive the night before. The fee of $20 (US or
Canadian - $15 for students) includes coffee, lunch and
registration. Presentations at this year's seminar will include:

D. Hakken (SUNY/Utica)  "Scientific Management and the
Development of US Disability Technology Policy, 1915-1920."

M. Tremblay (McMaster)  "Living in the Community with Spinal Cord
Injury: Ontario, 1900-1950."

Susan Foster (Nat. Technical Inst. for the Deaf),  "The
Importance of Historical Frameworks in the Design of Research
with Disabled People: Deafness As A Case Example."

Joseph Mullendorf (Buffalo),  "Designing Assistive Technology for
Individuals."

James Swan (Buffalo),  "The Cultural Construction of Helen
Keller."

Robert De Felice (Monroe Community College, Rochester),  "Helen
and Franklin: Beggars in Fancy Clothes." (FDR and Helen Keller as
fund raisers for charities)

Ed Steinfeldt (Buffalo)  "Access Issues in Historical
Perspective."

Gary Woodill (Ryerson)  "The Development of Statistics and the
Construction of the Abnormal."

Karen Blackford (York U.)  "The History of Individual and Family
Services within the MS Society of Canada: 1948-90"

Liz Bredberg (OISE)  "Walter Geikie, RSA - Beneficary of 19th
Century Deaf Education?"

Barry Edginton (U. of Winnipeg)  "The Social Construction of
Building Construction - The 19th Century English Asylum"

Richard Weisman (York) "Reflections on a Canadian Experiment with
Psychiatric Offenders"

Other brief presentations are welcome, please indicate on the
registration form below:

*********************************************************
REGISTRATION FORM - Third Annual Seminar on "Current Research on
the History of Disabilities"

Name_____________________________________________________Address_
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Telephone:_______________________________________________
Fax:_____________________________________________________
E-Mail:__________________________________________________

Enclosed is a cheque or money order payable to: HISTORY OF
DISABILITIES NETWORK

Regular Registration: _____________ $20 (US or Canadian Funds)
Student Registration: _____________ $15 (US or Canadian Funds)

____ I would like to briefly speak about my work, entitled:
     __________________________________________________________

Send registration form and money to the seminar chairperson by
Nov. 8, 1992:
David Gerber, Dept. of History, Park Hall, SUNY at Buffalo,
Amherst, NY 14260 USA
Phone: [phone]  Fax: [phone]  E-Mail:
[e-mail]
*********************************************************

HOTELS

The following hotels are across the road from the conference
center at the University of Buffalo. Please call them directly to
make reservations.


Super 8 Motel - [phone]
Red Roof Inn - [phone]
Hampton Inn - [phone]
Marriott Hotel - [phone]

DIRECTIONS

The conference center at the University of Buffalo is called the
CENTER FOR TOMORROW. It is located on the south edge of the
NORTH CAMPUS, which is just north of Interstate 290 at exit 5B,
Millersport Hwy.



(12) ALTER - INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF
DISABILITIES, HANDICAPS AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

ALTER = a place for the history of "otherness" (from "alt rity")

ALTER was founded in Paris on February 4th, 1989 by an
international group of social scientists, representing a number
of different disciplines.  The founding members of ALTER came
together because of their common interest in the history of those
who have been defined as disabled, handicapped, etc., or as
posing problems for society. Secretary-General: Catherine Barral-
Reiner, CTNERHI, 2, rue Auguste Comte, 92170 Vanves, France.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION

- to bring together those who are working in the area of the
history of disability who up to this point have not had a forum
to promote regular contact with each other.
- to promote, throughout the world, research into the history of
the diverse processes (social, economic, political medical,
psychological, religious, ideological, etc.) which have affected
the social construction of disabilities, handicaps and social
problems.
- to examine the history of the emergence of practices concerning
the identification, categorization and treatment of populations
categorized under the above labels
- to increase awareness of the need to conserve primary resources
such as documents, oral histories, pictures and materials related
to this field of study

ALTER will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, disabled
persons, institutions and others concerned with this newly
emerging area of historical study. An organization for exchange,
debate and cooperation, ALTER has established the first
international network in the field of the history of disabilities
connecting members in France, Canada, Great Britain, Scandinavia,
Togo, United States and Australia. Members from other countries
will soon be added.

ALTER ACTIVITIES

PUBLICATIONS - The Proceedings of the founding seminar on
"Infirmity, History and Society", held in Paris June 10-11, 1988
were published, along with the proceedings of a number of ALTER
seminars held since. The latest publication is a collection of
papers in French on "Classifying the Needy: 1880-1914". It is
available from the ALTER secretary for 75 francs (including
postage). The president of ALTER, Dr. Henri-Jacques Stiker, was a
guest editor of a special history edition of Handicaps et
Inadaptations, published by CTNERHI in Vanves, France. To assist
in the exchange of information ALTER has published four issues of
a newsletter in French for members since the fall of 1989.  This
newsletter contains information about ALTER activities as well as
bibliographic references, and dates of international meetings and
workshops of interest to members. Excerpts of items in the
newsletter are published in the History and Analysis of
Disabilities Newsletter, which you are now reading.

WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES - seminars have been held on a)
Sources, Archives, Censuses; b) 1880-1914 - an important period
for the categorization of the "assisted";  c) a series of
seminars with leading French historians have been held in Paris;
d) a European seminar will be held in Paris in 1992, and an
international congress is being planned for 1993; e) ALTER
members have participated in seminars and conferences organized
by related organizations, speaking on the history of "otherness".

THEMATIC WORKING GROUPS - ALTER has undertaken to support two
working groups:
a) Disabled persons producing their own history
b) The history and critique of the vocabulary of the field

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                           ALTER

             INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF
            DISABILITIES, SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND HANDICAPS

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP:
Return this form to the treasurer of ALTER, with an international
money order:
Francois-Oliver TOUATI, Treasurer of ALTER
54 rue d'ENGHIEN, 75010 Paris FRANCE

LAST NAME                      FIRST NAME(S)

PROFESSIONAL ADDRESS


TELEPHONE

POSITION

PERSONAL ADDRESS


HOME TELEPHONE

Which of the above addresses do you want as a mailing address?
___ Professional Address     ___ Personal Address

Areas of Interest:

1 -
2 -
3 -

Enclosed is an international money order for:
Active membership      ____  100 francs
Benefactor membership  ____  500 francs or more

Signed at ____________________(city), the ________________(date)

Signature__________________________________________________

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(13) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

This issue of the newsletter was compiled and edited by Gary
Woodill and Karen Blackford. The newsletter is a publication of
the History of Disabilities Network, an affiliation of
researchers in the Toronto-Buffalo area. The newsletter also
serves as a source of information for English speaking members of
ALTER - The International Society for the History of
Disabilities, Handicaps and Social Problems in Paris. A
subscription is $10 (Canadian or US funds) for 4 issues or is
included in membership in ALTER (Readers of the electronic
version of the newsletter receive it free, but may wish to make a
donation to the Network). Cheques are payable to the HISTORY OF
DISABILITIES NETWORK. Subscriptions and items for the newsletter
should be sent to Gary Woodill, School of Early Childhood
Education, Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, 350 Victoria Street,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada  M5B 2K3  Phone: [phone] Ext.
4533 Fax: [phone]  E-Mail: [e-mail]


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