Measuring Difference, Numbering Normal

Coreen McGuire is Lecturer in Twentieth-Century British History at Durham University

'Measuring Difference, Numbering Normal is a valuable contribution to a vibrant discussion at the intersection of STS and disability studies, speaking directly to work by Lundy Braun, Mara Mills, and Jaipreet Virdi. It speaks too to STS work on quantification and the normalising of privileged bodies, as in the writings of Michelle Murphy and Jacqueline Wernimont.'Social History of Medicine'Measuring Difference, Numbering Normal is a complex work in that it deals with the construction of physical norms at the theoretical, historical, social and cultural levels. A very careful reading is necessary to grasp the richness of the references and sources used by the author to structure and deploy her arguments. This is indeed an ambitious book that seeks to measure the weight of the different actors – from doctors to engineers, from administrators to entrepreneurs – who participate in the development of standards of human physiology. This book highlights the erasure of users, whose expertise, although precious, is set aside and rarely solicited. It also reveals the consequences of these "arbitrary" but objectified norms on the construction of disability that result from a socially and culturally determined operation rather than from a series of scientifically rigorous observations. […] this remarkable work … can be considered an essential read for any historian and philosopher of science and technology, as well as for those interested in disability studies.'Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, Corinne Doria'What constituted a normal body in interwar Britain? Widely explored by scholars of eugenics, war, sexuality, and physical culture, McGuire skilfully turns this question to confront the figures and calculations used to define ‘normal’ and its inverse during this period.'20th Century British HistoryMcGuire's telling of history is engaging and thorough, providing colorful and, at times, emotive context to a wide range of organizations, products, and medical conditions.H-Disability (January, 2024)

• 1 Numbering normal2 Measuring disability3 The artificial ear and the disability data gap4 The audiometer and the medicalization of hearing loss5 The spirometer and the normal subjects6 The respirator and the mechanization of normal breathing7 Measuring ourselvesBibliographyIndex