Season 4 - Disability. A Parallel History.
In this new Yarn Podcast Miniseries we’re going to give you a rough history of Disability.
The story of Disability runs in parallel with the story of humanity itself and like the story of humanity, some of it isn’t pretty.
It involves murder, neglect, segregation and sterilisation but it’s also a story of innovation, determination and love.
Attitudes to disability today are very much products of its history. If we want to understand current practices, stereotypes and infrastructure around disability we have to revisit its past.
It’s also very much a personal history to me. I’ve got Cerebral Palsy, so in telling this story I might drop in a couple of my own first hand experiences too.
Written and narrated by John Roche.
Prehistory -> 1400s
In episode one we define what a disability is before diving into the past.
We start with the Neanderthals, checking in with the Egyptians, the Celts, the Ancient Romans and we also highlight the effect organised Religion has on the perception of people with a disability.
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Full episode transcript
1500s -> 1800s
In episode two we will see how the aftermath of the Reformation effected people with disabilities.
We look at the Elizabethan Poor Laws and the Poor houses many Disabled people ended up in.
We enter the massive institutions that were created for people with disabilities, including the infamous Bedlam Asylum and we explore the age of Enlightenment and beyond, when philosophers and physicians attempted to understand, classify and cure mental and physical disability.
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1900s -> 2000s
In episode three things start with one of modern history's darkest ideas, Eugenics. We explore its prevalence, especially in America and some of its most famous proponents. Then we jump over to Post WW2 Britain and we uncover how wars not only create Disabled people but how post war periods also led to infrastructure and programmes that helped people with disabilities.
We will confront the horrific conditions Disabled residents of institutions were forced to live in and see how the era of the big institution eventually came to an end. We'll intersect with the Civil Rights movement and see how it inspired the Parent's movement, which led to the Independent Living movement and the fight for Human Rights for people with Disabilities.
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