The Making of Swedish Disabled Childhoods

Jonathan Schlunck

By understanding disability as spatially constituted and contested, I explore how spatial formations—ranging from schools for the deaf to scout camps and play libraries—served as arenas for negotiating disability and the childhood of children with disabilities in Sweden between 1950 and 1980.

In examining the scout movement, state schools for the deaf, and the grassroots movement of toy libraries (called lekotek in Swedish), I explore not only the physical spaces created but also the political and societal visions that informed them. A common thread among these diverse actors were their connection to the United States through multiple travels to American schools for the deaf or the headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America. During my stay at the GHI, I focus on the transnational ties and influences between Swedish and American teachers of the deaf, as well as the boy scouts and the toy library movement.