The four display cases in this exhibit were curated by members of a combined undergraduate and graduate course on disability history and literature at the University of Michigan to convey what it was like to be disabled in the United States before the modern category of “disability” existed. Together, the artifacts gathered from the Clements Library collections provide a glimpse of the cruelties, triumphs, and intimate acts of care that shaped the lives of people with disabilities in the past.
Curated By: Dr. Ittai Orr and the Students of English 420, Winter 2022, with Clements staff members Maggie Vanderford and Julie Fremuth.
Navigating Disability in 19th-Century America will be highlighted during in-person guided tours at 4:15 pm ET on 4/29 and 5/6, please register at myumi.ch/Aw9Zb. In-person browsing of the exhibit is available on 4/29 and 5/6 from 5:00-8:00 pm ET. Additional tour and exhibit browsing times will continue to be added through the summer.