Description
Book SynopsisAutism is widely understood in contemporary times as nothing more than a biomedical disorder in need of treatment and/or cure.
War on Autism disrupts this singularity by examining autism as a historically specific and power-laden cultural phenomenon that has much to teach about the social organization of a neoliberal western modernity.
Trade ReviewA comprehensive treatise on the social, political, and discursive constitution of the conceptual object called ‘autism’ which considers a broad range of arguments, artifacts, and events and does so in a series of lively and provocative challenges to accepted understandings of this relatively recent phenomenon.” — Shelley Tremain, author of Foucault and the Government of Disability “In many respects, autism is the condition du jour, and cultural fascination has long prevented both lay publics and scholars from engaging with the host of characters—or figures—that govern its very construction. McGuire’s multi-pronged, critical analysis of modern-day autism advocacy will profoundly impact the field of Disability Studies and uproot (unfortunately) dearly-held clinical and educational paradigms that dominate contemporary discourse on autism.” — Melanie Yergeau, University of Michigan
