The Idea of Deafness as Disability in Renaissance Germany.

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 00140360R Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0022-5037 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00225037 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Hist Ideas

Publication: Baltimore, MD : Johns Hopkins University Press
Original Publication: Lancaster, Pa.

Deafness* ; Disabled Persons*; Humans ; Sign Language ; Hearing ; Germany

This essay assesses the degree to which the deaf were regarded as a disabled population in medical, religious, and legal thought during the Renaissance, chronologically identified with the period between approximately 1500 and 1650. The primary geographic focus rests on the German-speaking lands of central Europe. Analysis shows that the idea of deafness as a disability here was composite one, making connections between inability to hear and intellectual impairment, moral deficiency, and disease. This contrasts with recent findings elsewhere in Europe, where intellectuals were more focused on sign languages as a means of integrating the deaf into hearing society.

Date Created: 20240408 Date Completed: 20240410 Latest Revision: 20240410

20240410

10.1353/jhi.2023.a909533

38588300