By 1870 England had colonized over one-fifth of the world's landmasses. In 1776 Adam Smith revolutionized economic theory with the publication of The Wealth of Nations, setting the stage for a celebration of laissez-faire capitalism that continues today. In 1859 Samuel Smiles published Self Help, a text that would become a best seller and profoundly influence Victorian and modern ideas about human independence and endeavor. Charles Kingsley's sermons, which invoked the term “muscular Christianity,” linked athleticism and physical stamina with true masculinity and moral strength. Authors like Thomas Carlyle, from whose essay “Signs of the Times” the first part of my paper title is taken, increasingly aligned the ills of England's social body with the ills of individual bodies. And throughout the nineteenth century, as industrialization and urbanization radically altered life for millions, England struggled to cope with chronic and extreme poverty among the working classes, including starvation in the streets.

If disability studies is often overlooked at universities today, cognitive disability is often overlooked by scholars in disability studies. How should we think and talk about mental difference? Our academic enterprise privileges intellect, as is appropriate. But how should we properly account for human beings who are intellectually disabled? How does mental disability relate to other disabilities or to more familiar identity categories like race and gender? Perhaps no one illustrates these questions better than an intriguing figure who captivated audiences in nineteenth-century America: Thomas Wiggins, also known as Thomas Bethune but most popularly known as Blind Tom.

I'd like to begin with an anecdote. when i was an undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a leader from an African country came to speak on the impact of a recent revolution in his homeland. The speech was inspired and exciting and provoked many questions. It being Santa Cruz in the late 1970s, a woman stood up in the back of the room and asked, “After the revolution, what will your country do to help our lesbian sisters?” The speaker looked perplexed and turned to a translator, who explained that lesbians were women who made love to one another like men and women did. The speaker expressed shock until a flash of recognition came over him as he explained, “Well, we will cure that with medicine!”

In general, the modern language association offers no grants or fellowships of any kind. Current graduate students, however, may qualify for financial assistance to attend the annual convention. For details, see A Concise Guide to Activities and Services, in this issue. The following list provides an overview of fellowship and grant programs; potential applicants should write to the foundations for complete information on procedures and requirements. The list omits prize contests and a number of purely literary fellowships. Larger, more inclusive lists include Annual Register of Grant Support (New Providence: Bowker); Directory of Research Grants (Phoenix: Oryx); Financial Aid for Minorities in Education (Garrett Park: Garrett Park); The Foundation Directory (New York: Foundation Center); The Foundation Grants Index (New York: Foundation Center); Fulbright and Other Grants for Graduate Study Abroad (New York: Inst. of Intl. Educ.); Directory of Graduate Programs, Vol. D: Arts and Humanities (New York: Warner); Virginia P. White, Grants: How to Find Out about Them and What to Do Next (New York: Plenum); The Grants Register (New York: St. Martin's); Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loans (Detroit: Gale); Study Abroad (Lanham: Unipub); and Teaching Abroad (New York: Inst. of Intl. Educ.). The Linguistic Society of America (1325 18th St., NW, Suite 211, Washington, DC 20036–6501; 202 835–1714; http://www.lsadc.org) publishes the Guide to Grants and Fellowships in Linguistics. Information on philanthropic foundations, books on fellowships and grants, and periodicals such as Foundation Grants to Individuals (a biannual) and the Foundation Grants Index Quarterly may be obtained by writing or calling the Foundation Center, 79 5th Ave., New York, NY 10003–3076 (212 620–4230; http://fdncenter.org).