Politics, Disability, and Education Reform in the South - by E Janak (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Fashioned from a vast array of archival sources as well as secondary sources, newspapers, periodicals, family correspondence, and oral interviews, Politics, Disability, and Education Reform in the South: The Work of John Eldred Swearingen analyzes the political and educational contexts during which Swearingen fought to improve educational conditions for African-Americans, women, and the children of millworkers of the Palmetto State as State Superintendent of Education 1907-1922. Blinded in a hunting accident at 13, Swearingen became the first blind student admitted to the University of South Carolina, and became a successful teacher and politician. Fighting for equalized funding and desegregated schools put him in direct opposition with the Ku Klux Klan, the General Education Board, and Governor Coleman Blease. Swearingen's story lends itself to scholars of education and political science, as well as any reader with an interest in the intersections of race, gender, disability, politics and education"--

Book Synopsis

Politics, Disability, and Education Reform in the South explores how race, gender, disability, and politics all came together to impact the career of one State Superintendent of Education in South Carolina who fought to improve educational conditions for African-Americans, women, and millworkers' children in South Carolina.

Review Quotes

"Those interested in the Progressive era, disability, and the history of education in the United States will find this inspirational biography of John Eldred Swearingen a necessary addition to their library." - Laurie Puchner, Professor and Chair, Department of Educational Leadership, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA

"Edward Janak tells the compelling story of John Eldred Swearingen, a privileged white male born in the South during Reconstruction. He loses his sight in a teenage hunting accident and later wins election as State Superintendent of Education in South Carolina. Swearingen uses his position to enhance the education of all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income. This is an important book for educational historians and those interested in disability and social justice issues." - Linda C. Morice, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA, and editor of Vitae Scholasticae: The Journal ofEducational Biography

About the Author

Edward Janak is Associate Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Wyoming, USA.