The Tenth Circle: Notes for a History of Disability
Original title: Il decimo cerchio. Appunti per una storia della disabilità
Author: Massimo Fioranelli
Publisher: Laterza, 2011
ISBN: 9788842096559
Publication language: Italian. This page provides an English synopsis of that edition.
A history of exclusion and recognition
The book begins with the metaphor of an unwritten tenth circle of Dante’s Inferno: a place within the world of the living to which people with disabilities have been confined through exclusion, discrimination and the denial of dignity.
From antiquity to contemporary society, Il decimo cerchio traces the history of disability through medicine, philosophy, religion, literature and social institutions. It examines how beliefs about difference have shaped the lives and opportunities of people with disabilities.
Medicine, institutions and rights
The narrative follows changing forms of exclusion and assistance, the development of medical knowledge and the transformation of institutions. It gives particular attention to the recognition of rights, challenges to segregation and the emergence of approaches centred on dignity and social participation.
The history of disability becomes a way to question the meaning of normality and to examine how societies welcome or reject people who fall outside their dominant expectations. Difference is presented as a dimension of human existence that concerns medicine, culture and collective responsibility.
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Original Italian edition details · English-language edition profile