Re-examining Dorothea Dix and 19th-Century Disability Reform

 

19th-century Massachusetts reformer Dorothea Dix is renowned for her efforts to improve the horrendous treatment of people with mental disabilities in local jails, almshouses, and asylums. Her investigations and activism led to major changes in the mental health field, including shifting care from local to state control. However, Dix’s views and actions were not representative of individuals with cognitive and psychiatric disabilities, and the voices of these individuals are often marginalized when the history of these reforms is told. 

 

In partnership with Emerging America and the Disability History Museum, the MHS offers an educator workshop that will provide a deeper context for teaching Dix’s legacy and the history of asylum reforms in the 19th century. Educators will engage with rich primary sources that center the voices of people with mental disabilities and will be equipped with strategies for bringing these important stories into the classroom. 

 

Presented as part of the Massachusetts Historical Society series “Disability and the American Past.” 

 

This program is open to all who work with K-12 students. Teachers can earn either 22.5 PDPs or 1 graduate credit with Worcester State University (for an additional fee). The $25 workshop fee is non-refundable. This event will take place virtually and will be presented in English with English auto-generated captioning, and ASL translation and live captioning are available upon request during registration (please place requests for ASL translation by 10/18 and live caption requests by 10/19). The scholar lecture will be recorded and made available to registrants in advance of the workshop; all other workshop sessions will feature breakout rooms, so they will not be recorded.

 

For more information, questions, or further accessibility requests, please contact us at education@masshist.org.