Synopses & Reviews
The expressions "idiot, you idiot, you're an idiot, don't be an idiot," and the like are generally interpreted as momentary insults. But, they are also expressions that represent an old, if unstable, history. Beginning with an examination of the early nineteenth century labeling of mental retardation as "idiocy," to what we call developmental, intellectual, or learning disabilities,
Mental Retardation in America chronicles the history of mental retardation, its treatment and labeling, and its representations and ramifications within the changing economic, social, and political context of America.
Mental Retardation in America includes essays with a wide range of authors who approach the problems of retardation from many differing points of view. This work is divided into five sections, each following in chronological order the major changes in the treatment of people classified as retarded. Exploring historical issues, as well as current public policy concerns, Mental Retardation in America covers topics ranging from representations of the mentally disabled as social burdens and social menaces; Freudian inspired ideas of adjustment and adaptation; the relationship between community care and institutional treatment; historical events, such as the Buck v. Bell decision, which upheld the opinion on eugenic sterilization; the evolution of the disability rights movement; and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.
Review
“Immigration and Crime is a terrific collection that debunks the stereotype of the Latino ‘criminal immigrant. The systematic and thorough quantitative and qualitative data in the book should provide pause and help shape a new policy agenda on immigration and crime.”
-Eduardo Bonilla-Silva,author of Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States
Review
“This volume shines a much needed light on the complexity of connections between crime, race, ethnicity, and immigration in the United States. Drawing on a distinguished group of experts on crime and immigration, Martinez and Valenzuela pull together a stimulating blend of perspectives and methods to address a topic that has been sadly neglected by researchers.”-Gary LaFree,author of Losing Legitimacy: Street Crime and the Decline of Social Institutions in America
Review
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“Essential.”
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Review
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“Serves as a much needed wake up call to scholars, policy makers, and the general public.”
)-(Tim Wadsworth),(University of Colorado, Boulder)
Review
“This volume shines a much needed light on the complexity of connections between crime, race, ethnicity, and immigration in the United States. Drawing on a distinguished group of experts on crime and immigration, Martinez and Valenzuela pull together a stimulating blend of perspectives and methods to address a topic that has been sadly neglected by researchers.”
“Immigration and Crime is a terrific collection that debunks the stereotype of the Latino ‘criminal immigrant.’ The systematic and thorough quantitative and qualitative data in the book should provide pause and help shape a new policy agenda on immigration and crime.”
“Essential.”
“Serves as a much needed wake up call to scholars, policy makers, and the general public.”
Review
Review
"This is a highly readable and well-edited historical anthology, a wide-ranging collection that deals with mental retardation over two centuries. The book deserves perusal by anyone interested in mental retardation. The plot is powerful, and the questions profound." -New England Journal of Medicine,
Review
"Strongly recommended"-Library Journal,
Review
"Interesting collection of pieces." -Gainesville Sun,
Review
"Illuminates the history of mental retardation in America, a subject that has largely been ignored by scholars. This volume goes far beyond the history of institutional care, and covers such subjects as the role of families, changes in concepts of retardation and educational theory, and the role of the state. Mental Retardation in America will contribute toward a new understanding of the subject and serve as a stimulus to further research."-Gerald N. Grob,Rutgers University
Review
"The book will be of value to scholars concerned with the newly emerging history of disability."-Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences,
Synopsis
The original essays in this much-needed collection broadly assess the contemporary patterns of crime as related to immigration, race, and ethnicity.
Immigration and Crime covers both a variety of immigrant groups--mainly from Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America--and a variety of topics including: victimization, racial conflict, juvenile delinquency, exposure to violence, homicide, drugs, gangs, and border violence.
The volume provides important insights about past understandings of immigration and crime, many based on theories that have proven to be untrue or racially biased, as well as offering new scholarship on salient topics. Overall, the contributors argue that fears of immigrant crime are largely unfounded, as immigrants are themselves often more likely to be the victims of discrimination, stigmatization, and crime rather than the perpetrators.
Contributors: Avraham Astor, Carl L. Bankston III, Robert J. Bursik, Jr., Roberto G. Gonzales, Sang Hea Kil, Golnaz Komaie, Jennifer Lee, Matthew T. Lee, Ramiro Martínez, Jr., Cecilia Menjívar, Jeffrey D. Morenoff, Charlie V. Morgan, Amie L. Nielsen, Rubén G. Rumbaut, Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada, Abel Valenzuela, Jr., Min Zhou.
Synopsis
An essential collection that argues fears of immigrant crime are largely unfounded
The original essays in this much-needed collection broadly assess the contemporary patterns of crime as related to immigration, race, and ethnicity. Immigration and Crime covers both a variety of immigrant groups--mainly from Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America--and a variety of topics including: victimization, racial conflict, juvenile delinquency, exposure to violence, homicide, drugs, gangs, and border violence.
The volume provides important insights about past understandings of immigration and crime, many based on theories that have proven to be untrue or racially biased, as well as offering new scholarship on salient topics. Overall, the contributors argue that fears of immigrant crime are largely unfounded, as immigrants are themselves often more likely to be the victims of discrimination, stigmatization, and crime rather than the perpetrators.
Contributors: Avraham Astor, Carl L. Bankston III, Robert J. Bursik, Jr., Roberto G. Gonzales, Sang Hea Kil, Golnaz Komaie, Jennifer Lee, Matthew T. Lee, Ramiro Mart nez, Jr., Cecilia Menj var, Jeffrey D. Morenoff, Charlie V. Morgan, Amie L. Nielsen, Rub n G. Rumbaut, Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada, Abel Valenzuela, Jr., Min Zhou.
About the Author
Steven Noll is a visiting associate Professor of History at the University of Florida. He is also an adaptive technology teacher for students with special needs in the Gainesville, Florida public schools. He is the author of
Feeble-Minded in our Midst: Institutions for the Mentally Retarded in the South.
James W. Trent is Professor and Director of the Master of Social Work Program at Southern Illinois University, and the author of the award-winning Inventing the Feeble Mind: A History of Mental Retardation in the United States.