Overview
Considering Chang and Eng's body in America from the nineteenth century to the present
Full Product Details
Author: Cynthia Wu
Publisher: Temple University Press,U.S.
Imprint: Temple University Press,U.S.
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.00cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.426kg
ISBN: 9781439908686
ISBN 10: 1439908680
Pages: 218
Publication Date: 24 August 2012
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Wuhas steered her book in a completely different direction from the usual accounts of Chang and Eng, away from the sideshow fascination about disability and also the mechanics of joined twins marrying sisters and fathering 21 children. Nor is this a biography; it is an analysis of society's response to abnormality. Here, the conjoinment becomes a useful metaphor for examining social contradictions about what are 'normal' personhood, kinship, social acceptance, political representation and even national unity. - Fortean Times
Wu...has steered her book in a completely different direction from the usual accounts of Chang and Eng, away from the sideshow fascination about disability and also the mechanics of joined twins marrying sisters and fathering 21 children. Nor is this a biography; it is an analysis of society's response to abnormality. Here, the conjoinment becomes a useful metaphor for examining social contradictions about what are 'normal' personhood, kinship, social acceptance, political representation and even national unity. --Fortean Times Given the amount of time and archival material the book covers, it is a credit to Wu's ability as a writer that she leads readers seamlessly from beginning to end... Wu's nuanced reading of embodiment provides a way of conceptualizing and analyzing disability diaspora. --Disability Studies Quarterly Vol. 33, No. 2. Chang and Eng Reconnected is carefully researched and theoretically rich, an essential volume for scholars interested in the construction of US national identity, the history and culture of Asian America, and the social construction and multivalent meanings of bodily difference. Wu is an admirably restrained writer, offering detailed interpretations of the cultural objects she examines without making grand claims for their significance as theoretical interventions... Wu's prose is lucid, elegant, and concise, so that despite the complexity of the material, the book will be suitable for undergraduate classes in disability studies, Asian American studies, and American studies, even as it proves an invaluable source for specialists in all three fields --MELUS, Summer 2013
Author Information
Cynthia Wu is Assistant Professor of American Studies at the University at Buffalo.
