Extraordinary Bodies on Display

Introduction

This volume explores the collection and display of human, animal, and cryptid bodies from antiquity to the present.

An increasing amount of attention has been paid to impairment and disability in classical antiquity in recent years. However, one aspect of the subject that has not received significant attention, despite recent developments in the study of ancient paradoxography and ancient collections, collectors, and collecting, is the public display of impaired and disabled people. The same applies to other different, perhaps even extraordinary (in all senses of the word), bodies. Whether those bodies were human, animal, or cryptid, when scholars have acknowledged this phenomenon, the focus has been placed squarely on those individuals responsible for the displaying. What is less often considered is how the extraordinary individuals and creatures themselves felt about being displayed. This volume, in its coverage of bodily display from antiquity through the contemporary world, seeks to explore the lived experience of impairment and disability, and provide a fresh perspective on a range of related issues.

This volume will be of interest to students and scholars working on ancient disability, collecting and the history of science and medicine from the disciplines of classics, history and archaeology, as well as museum professionals, and medical professionals who work with medical collections.