Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics

Presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Kayhan Parsi, JD, PhD
Nanette Elster, JD, MPH
Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

From Autistic Savant to Autistic Savant:
The Narrow Depiction of Autism in Popular Culture

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex phenomenon that can be characterized in a number of ways—as a disorder, a disability, as part of neurodiversity, or as an identity. Representations of ASD in popular culture have now been with us for many decades.  From Rain Main to The Good Doctor, however, these representations have stayed on a very narrow path—typically a white, male, non-autistic actor portraying someone with savantism.  We plan to define autism, explain autistic savantism, and explore some salient representations of ASD in film and television over the past few decades.  We will discuss why this limited representation is ethically problematic and offer some recommendations.  

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