Telethons and the Construction of "Disability" in American Culture

FAIN: FB-51450-05

Paul K. Longmore
San Francisco State University (San Francisco, CA 94132-1722)

During the latter half of the 20th century, telethons constituted a major site for the sociocultural framing of disease and disability. "‘I Am Your Child’: Telethons and the Construction of ‘Disability’ in American Culture," will fill the gap in humanities scholarship on this subject. Telethons were a mode of addressing issues of health and welfare, as well as a number of other social, cultural, political, and moral concerns. Most important among those matters were the cultural meaning and the framing and function of "disease" and "disability" in American society.