Book/Printed Material Difference and disability in the medieval Islamic world : blighted bodies
About this Item
Title
- Difference and disability in the medieval Islamic world : blighted bodies
Summary
- Outlines the complex significance of bodies in the late Medieval central Arab Islamic lands. Did you know that blue eyes, baldness, bad breath and boils were all considered bodily 'blights' by Medieval Arabs, as were cross eyes, lameness and deafness? What assumptions about bodies influenced this particular vision of physical difference? How did blighted people view their own bodies? Through close analyses of anecdotes, personal letters, biographies and autobiographies, erotic poetry, non-binding legal opinions, diaristic chronicles and theological tracts, Kristina Richardson brings the cultural views and experiences of disability and difference in the medieval Islamic world to life. This title investigates the place of physically different, disabled and ill individuals in medieval Islam. It is organised around the lives and works of 6 Muslim men, each highlighting a different aspect of bodily difference. It addresses broad cultural questions relating to social class, religious orthodoxy, moral reputation, drug use, male homoeroticism and self-representation in the public sphere. It moves towards a coherent theory of medieval disability and bodily aesthetics in Islamic cultural traditions.
Names
- Richardson, Kristina L.
Created / Published
- Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2012]
- ©2012
Headings
- - Sociology of disability--Middle East--History--To 1500
- - Disabilities--Social aspects--Middle East--To 1500
Notes
- - Based on author's dissertation.
- - Includes bibliographical references (pages 138-156) and index.
- - Description based on print version record; resource not viewed.
Medium
- 1 electronic resource (ix, 158 pages )
Call Number/Physical Location
- HV1559.M626
Digital Id
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2019667537
Rights Advisory
- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International CC BY-NC 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode External
Access Advisory
- Unrestricted online access
Online Format
- image