Disability and Dissent in Ann Petry's The Street.

Area of Science:

• Literary criticism
• Medical humanities
• Critical race theory

Background:

• Ann Petry's novel The Street (1946) offers a critical lens on the lived experiences of Black Americans.
• Racial discrimination significantly impacts health outcomes and access to care.
• The medical establishment has historically perpetuated systemic inequalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how Ann Petry's The Street depicts chronic illness, disfigurement, and disability.
• To examine the role of racism, labor exploitation, and housing conditions in creating disabling effects.
• To critique Western medicine's role in upholding white supremacy and misrecognizing racialized health conditions.

Main Methods:

• Close reading and literary analysis of Ann Petry's The Street.
• Interrogation of the novel's portrayal of health disparities and disability.
• Application of critical race theory and disability studies frameworks.

Main Results:

• Petry illustrates chronic illness, disfigurement, and disability as direct consequences of systemic racism.
• The novel reveals how Western medicine reinforces white supremacy through resource allocation and professional practices.
• Petry highlights conditions unrecognized or misrecognized by conventional medical and health disparities research.

Conclusions:

• Ann Petry's The Street challenges the medical model of disability.
• The novel advocates for recognizing a broader spectrum of health conditions as embodied effects of racism.
• Understanding disability requires acknowledging the social and systemic determinants of health rooted in racial injustice.