Histories of Disability

The Sonoma Developmental Center in Artifact and Archive

Presenter: Lydia Ruybal

Co-Presenter(s):
Serena Chan, Charlotte Jio, Cynthia Aczel

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Smith

Department: Human Development

Funding Source/Sponsor: Koret Scholars Program

President's Strategic Plan Goal: Diversity and Social Justice

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1QaMD6QtM_E45AJNMq8Ai_J7RR2P_mK_n

Abstract:
This poster shows how methods from archaeology and qualitative approaches to the life course are being used to understand experiences of disability at the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC), located in Glen Ellen, California, between the 1890s and 1960s. IN particular, we show the salience of different models of disability across this time period as well as the significance of these models for the assessment, treatment and care of individuals at the center - in both life and death.