This collection of essays investigates the historical genealogy of our contemporary ideas of intellectual or learning disability. The essays engage with literary, educational, cultural, legal, religious, psychiatric and philosophical histories to track how and why these precursor ideas arose and explore how they helped shape current concepts.

This collection explores how concepts of intellectual disability evolved from a range of influences, eventually converging with earlier and decidedly distinct ideas, including ‘idiocy’ and ‘folly’, which were themselves generated by very specific social and intellectual environments.

The book brings together essays from some of the leading historians of ideas of intellectual disability, and extends across legal, educational, literary, religious, philosophical, and psychiatric histories. Maintaining a rigorous distinction between historical and contemporary concepts, it demonstrates how intellectual disability and related notions were products of the prevailing social, cultural and intellectual environments in which they took form, and also shows how they performed important functions within these environments.

Focusing on British and European material from the Middle Ages to the late-nineteenth century, the collection asks ‘how and why did these concepts form?’ ‘how did they connect with one another?’ and ‘what historical circumstances contributed to building these connections?’ But, while the essays focus on the forces shaping ideas of intelligence and disability, they also address the consequences of these defining forces for the people who found themselves enclosed by the shifting definitional field.

Intellectual disability is essential reading for scholars interested in the history of intelligence, intellectual disability and related concepts, as well as in disability and social history generally.

This collection explores the historical origins of our modern concepts of intellectual or learning disability. The essays, from some of the leading historians of ideas of intellectual disability, focus on British and European material from the Middle Ages to the late-nineteenth century and extend across legal, educational, literary, religious, philosophical and psychiatric histories. They investigate how precursor concepts and discourses were shaped by and interacted with their particular social, cultural and intellectual environments, eventually giving rise to contemporary ideas. Intellectual disability is essential reading for scholars interested in the history of intelligence, intellectual disability and related concepts, as well as in disability history generally.