Opportunity house
Subtitle: ethnographic stories of mental retardation
By: Michael V. Angrosino.
Series: Ethnographic alternatives book series ;; v. 2
Publisher: AltaMira Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Walnut Creek, CA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 287
Subjects: Mental retardation -- United States.; Ethnology -- United States.
Description: "Calling on a decade of participant observation at a residence for mentally retarded adults, anthropologist Michael Angrosino's riveting and demystifying account offers an insider's picture of the lives of the inhabitants of Opportunity House.

Using a dozen fictional short stories told in the voices of various community members, as well as in that of the researcher, Angrosino uses a life-histories approach to ethnography together with an innovative culture concept to tackle the complexities of representing marginalized groups. As opposed to traditional clinical or statistical studies, which insufficiently conveyed the subjective and experiential perspectives of individuals themselves, Angrosino presents an intimate and complex picture of a highly functioning community with its cast of entrepreneurs, bullies, victims, and do-gooders.

This account is a resource for those interested in mental illness and disability, as well as a model for those experimenting with forms of ethnographic writing."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-285).
Table of contents: title: Fellow traveler; title: The ghost of Dallas Lumbley; title: Any port in a storm. The left stuff. Target enterprises. Midnight at the Budget Inn. Interlude; title: Take pen in hand; title: Where the heart is. An honest woman. Little bit of warm. The chadster steps out. Days of sunshine, days of rain. Perfect pals. Interlude. Fit to print; title: The boys in the van. How sweet the sound. The lonesome trucker. By the chimney with care; title: All told.