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"Which not by the Light of Knowledge can Dispel:" Experiencing Blindness in Late Nineteenth-Century North America

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dc.contributor.advisorPodruchny, Carolyn
dc.contributor.advisorReaume, Geoffrey
dc.contributor.authorPearce, Joanna Lynne
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-03T20:04:33Z
dc.date.available2023-10-03T20:04:33Z
dc.date.issued2023-10-03
dc.date.updated2023-10-03T20:04:32Z
dc.degree.disciplineHistory
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation contributes to knowledge by expanding our understanding of the way that blindness was defined and experienced in the nineteenth century. Many of our modern ideas of blindness are still shaped by ideas of helplessness and dependency that were described and defined by schools for the blind during their establishment in the late nineteenth century. These schools relied on fundraising that required the posterchild of blindness to be pathetic and helpless without the interventions of school officials and dedicated separate schools for the blind. However, examining the life experiences of blind people counteracts some of this narrative. While those who wrote autobiographies were a minority, they reflect an understanding and lived experience of blindness that is not described in the work of institutions. By examining these autobiographies next to the main narratives of schools for the blind, we raise questions about the effectiveness of dedicated schooling for the blind in the nineteenth century, interrogating and complicating their narratives. By looking at these documents written by the blind themselves, this dissertation also brings to light the community of blind children and adults that has not been well-examined by previous studies.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10315/41443
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectHistory
dc.subjectCanadian history
dc.subjectEducation
dc.subject.keywordsDisability
dc.subject.keywordsBlindness
dc.subject.keywordsNineteenth-century Canada
dc.subject.keywordsEducation
dc.subject.keywordsBraille
dc.subject.keywordsChildren and youth
dc.subject.keywordsBook history
dc.subject.keywordsWomen and girls
dc.subject.keywordsAutobiographies
dc.subject.keywordsEgo documents
dc.subject.keywordsSchools for the blind
dc.subject.keywordsBrantford
dc.subject.keywordsOntario
dc.subject.keywordsPerkins School for the Blind
dc.subject.keywordsOntario Institution for the Education of the Blind
dc.subject.keywordsRaised print text
dc.subject.keywordsScience education
dc.title"Which not by the Light of Knowledge can Dispel:" Experiencing Blindness in Late Nineteenth-Century North America
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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