Skip to main content

Roy Richard Grinker, Author of Nobody's Normal


Roy Richard Grinker is a Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs at George Washington University. His books include Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism.

I met Dr. Grinker in May of 2007 while he was promoting Unstrange Minds, my favorite book on autism's history. The opportunity to speak to him about his new work, Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness was an honor.

Press Release: 

Approximately twenty percent of all American adults—around 60 million people—live with a mental illness. But due to the lingering legacy of shame and secrecy around mental health, sixty percent of them receive no treatment. In NOBODY’S NORMAL: HOW CULTURE CREATED THE STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS, anthropologist and professor Roy Richard Grinker chronicles the progress and setbacks in the struggle against stigma, from the 18th century through America’s major wars and into today’s high-tech economy In this uplifting book, infused with poignant human-interest stories, he shows us that in the 21st century we are finally getting closer to ending the discrimination, fear, and marginalization that has long impeded the social and therapeutic supports that reduce suffering.


Check out this episode!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments violating the policies of this blog will not be approved for posting. Language and content should be appropriate for all readers and maintain a polite tone. Thank you.

Popular posts from this blog

Autistic Burnout

Summer demands a lot of social energy, especially for parents. For autistics, the never-ending social calendar of summer can cause serious autistic burnout. Host C. S. Wyatt discusses his need to find a balance between social demands and self-care. Check out this episode!
Post a Comment
Read more

Autism, Asperger's, and IQ

"Aren't people with Asperger's more likely to be geniuses? Isn't genius related to autism?" A university student asked this in a course I am teaching. The class discussion was covering neurological differences, free will, and the nature versus nurture debate. The textbook for the course includes sidebars on the brain and behavior throughout chapters on ethics and morality. This student was asking a question reflecting media portrayals of autism spectrum disorders, social skills difficulties, and genius. I did not address this question from a personal perspective in class, but I have when speaking to groups of parents, educators, and caregivers. Some of the reasons these questions arise, as mentioned above, are media portrayals and news coverage of autism. Examples include: Television shows with gifted characters either identified with or assumed to have autistic traits: Alphas, Big Bang Theory, Bones, Rizzoli and Isles, Touch, and others. Some would include
12 comments
Read more

Scott on Fall 2023

Normal life has made it difficult this fall to maintain the podcast, my blogs, and my social media accounts. I have no idea how other working parents with podcasts and blogs manage to produce any content during a school year. Trying to produce episodes at least monthly proved beyond my stamina. After months like November, I find myself envying full-time creators who earn a living producing quality podcasts, videos, blog posts, and social media. They have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of subscribers and followers. Their podcasts have sponsors. Many of them have small teams or they outsource editing and transcription of content. And then there are the dedicated hobbyists. That’s me: a slightly insane, certainly overwhelmed, and sometimes on-schedule hobbyist. Podcast 0111; Season 07, Episode 04; 4 December 2023 The Autistic Me: Blog:  https://www.tameri.com/autisticme/ Podcast:  https://autisticme.libsyn.com/neurodiversity https://autisticme.libsyn.com/ Facebo
Post a Comment
Read more