Sociological Theory and Mental Retardation

The most salient fact about the relationship between sociology and mental retardation is its lack of interest in the topic. Sociologists, as well as anthropologists, who study medical care, health systems, the insane, deviant behaviour and social stratification have conspicuously avoided the examination of those individuals in society who are developmentally disabled. As the British sociologist Richard Jenkins (1991) asks regarding the study of the mentally retarded