Cover; Framing the moron; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1 Metaphors and the dehumanization of marginalized groups; 2 The organism metaphor: the moron as a diseased entity; 3 The animal metaphor: the moron as an atavistic subhuman; 4 The war and natural catastrophe metaphors: the moron as an enemy force; 5 The religious and altruistic metaphors: the moron as an immoral sinner and an object of protection ; 6 The object metaphor: the moron as a poorly functioning human; 7 Conclusion; Bibliography; Index
Summary
Many people are shocked upon discovering that tens of thousands of innocent persons in the United States were involuntarily sterilized, forced into institutions, and otherwise maltreated within the course of the eugenic movement (1900-30). Such social control efforts are easier to understand when we consider the variety of dehumanizing and fear-inducing rhetoric propagandists invoke to frame their potential victims. This book details the major rhetorical themes employed within the context of eugenic propaganda, drawing largely on original sources of the period. Early in the twentieth century t
