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Defectives in the Land: Disability and American Immigration Policy, 1882-1924

The chief goal of early immigration law in the late-nineteenth-century United States was the exclusion of “defective” persons and races. Douglas C.  Baynton, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Iowa will share his research on the topic of disability and immigration policy at the turn of the 20th century.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Main Library, Second Floor Conference (rm 2032)

The advent of immigration law can be best understood in the context of the institutionalization of disabled people, sterilization of the “unfit,” euthanasia campaigns, sign language proscription, “unsightly beggar” laws, and a growing desire to keep disabled people out of sight. The larger context, in turn, was a cultural transformation in the understanding of history, time, and progress.

This program is sponsored by The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society. Light refreshments will be served. For more information contact Ed Holtum at 319-335-9154.