The historical process of social insertion of the blind person: from Antiquity to the Middle Ages

Abstract

Understanding that generalizations about the blind person during the historical process, can be seen as ignorant as the concept of disability is related to a multitude of factors, this report aimed to discuss the historical process of social integration of the blind person in periods of classical antiquity, ancient Oriental and Middle Ages. For a literature review, it was noted initially limiting references, national and international, that versassem on the subject, for which the study is based, almost exclusively, the volume of work. Presented a panorama of the historical period of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and Japan. In Western, antiquity was seen Greece and Rome. In addition, the blind person in the Islamic world shows its fantastic social and educational integration, very different from what occurred in European average age. Finally, there is talk of blindness in America Pre-Colombian, with reality much close to the Prehistoric period. They noted there are many contrasts, ranging from the societies in which death and begging were rules applied to the blind, to cultures like Japan, where there were hostels and schools for teaching professions to them.Is has been confirmed that, in fact, the conception of the blind person during the historical process varies from culture to culture, reflecting beliefs, values and ideologies, by which different modes of relationship are established between this and other people.