A review by selenotropic
Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body by Lennard J. Davis

Did not finish book.

This one was a bit of a disappointment for me. I agree with Davis' general thesis - and was looking forward to delving into the relationship between Deafness, disability, and normalcy - but much of this book is given over to tedious historical and literary analysis. While I understand the value of genealogy in this post-Foucault world, I don't think Davis' take on it is particularly interesting and it CERTAINLY didn't need the amount of words he gives over to it.  As well I find a lot of the conclusions he draws from his historical analysis slightly iffy and he bases much of it on the premise that sign language has more in common with writing than it does with speaking, which is a baffling assertion to me. Perhaps a case where it was important when published but now the field has moved in a different direction.