The Women’s Island: Internment of female patients with intellectual disabilities in Denmark, 1923-1961
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The Women’s Island : Internment of female patients with intellectual disabilities in Denmark, 1923-1961. / Kragh, Jesper Vaczy; Hamre, Bjørn Frithiof.
Islands of Extreme Exclusion: Studies on Global Practices of Isolation, Punishment, and Education of the Unwanted . ed. / Bjørn Hamre; Lisa Villadsen. Brill, 2023. p. 120-136 (Studies in Inclusive Education).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review
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TY - CHAP
T1 - The Women’s Island
T2 - Internment of female patients with intellectual disabilities in Denmark, 1923-1961
AU - Kragh, Jesper Vaczy
AU - Hamre, Bjørn Frithiof
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Denmark was a pioneer country in establishing island institutions for people with intellectual disabilities. The main figure behind these initiatives was disability doctor Christian Keller, who was instrumental in the Danish eugenic movement. In 1923, he founded the first institution for “morally mental deficient” or “antisocial” women on the island Sprogø. More than five hundred women were interned on Sprogø during its time of operation. Keller’s initiative attracted wide public attention, and his ideas were highly praised by the press. By the late 1950s, however, views on the proper means and ends had radically changed, the island institution was no longer considered an appropriate solution, and it was terminated in 1961. In popular culture today, Sprogø is often portrayed as equivalent to a prison. However, archival sources of the time and interviews with former inmates from Sprogø provide a more complex picture. By examining patient records, oral history interviews, and other primary sources, we discuss the issue of exclusion and the patients’ perspective and compare these with recent accounts on the history of the island institution. We argue that the women on Sprogø not only were victims of disciplinary exclusion but also had a social life and experienced a certain amount of freedom on the island which was rarely the case on the mainland.
AB - Denmark was a pioneer country in establishing island institutions for people with intellectual disabilities. The main figure behind these initiatives was disability doctor Christian Keller, who was instrumental in the Danish eugenic movement. In 1923, he founded the first institution for “morally mental deficient” or “antisocial” women on the island Sprogø. More than five hundred women were interned on Sprogø during its time of operation. Keller’s initiative attracted wide public attention, and his ideas were highly praised by the press. By the late 1950s, however, views on the proper means and ends had radically changed, the island institution was no longer considered an appropriate solution, and it was terminated in 1961. In popular culture today, Sprogø is often portrayed as equivalent to a prison. However, archival sources of the time and interviews with former inmates from Sprogø provide a more complex picture. By examining patient records, oral history interviews, and other primary sources, we discuss the issue of exclusion and the patients’ perspective and compare these with recent accounts on the history of the island institution. We argue that the women on Sprogø not only were victims of disciplinary exclusion but also had a social life and experienced a certain amount of freedom on the island which was rarely the case on the mainland.
UR - https://brill.com/display/book/9789004688520/BP000016.xml
U2 - 10.1163/9789004688520_007
DO - 10.1163/9789004688520_007
M3 - Book chapter
SN - 9789004688513
SN - 9789004688506
T3 - Studies in Inclusive Education
SP - 120
EP - 136
BT - Islands of Extreme Exclusion
A2 - Hamre, Bjørn
A2 - Villadsen, Lisa
PB - Brill
ER -
ID: 345364673