Difference and Disability in the Medieval Islamic World: Blighted Bodies

By Kristina Richardson

Book Overview

Did you know that blue eyes, baldness, bad breath and boils were all considered bodily 'blights' by Medieval Arabs, as were cross eyes, lameness and deafness? What assumptions about bodies influenced this particular vision of physical difference? How did blighted people view their own bodies? Through close analyses of anecdotes, personal letters, (auto)biographies, erotic poetry, non-binding legal opinions, diaristic chronicles and theological tracts, the cultural views and experiences of disability and difference in the medieval Islamic world are brought to life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0748695885
• ISBN13: 9780748695881
• Release Date: August 2014
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 22 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher