Immigration, Disease & Symbolic Impurity
The photo above depicts the medical examinations that immigrants to the United States traveling through Ellis Island endured. Around seventy-five percent of all US immigrants entered Ellis Island between 1885 and 1920 and were forced to complete extensive medical tests to determine their eligibility for citizenship. These exams included testing for diseases, endurance levels, physiological state, and intelligence; however, most were conducted at the physical gaze of the physician. The people were separated into the pens seen above based on the results of these exams. Those that did not pass the exams (primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe) were not allowed to continue migrating.
Social anthropologist Mary Douglas describes collective features in a society that distinguish between the pure and impure. In her writing within Purity and Danger, she argues that society separates anomalies into an impure category– deeming them dangerous or incohesive with the rest of society. She argues that the body can be seen as a symbol of this social process. The manifestation of impurity often comes in the form of sickness or poor health.
The regulation of immigration in the United States– specifically through the process of conducting “wellness' ' check-ups– alludes to a broader reflection of the values and logic of the United States government symbolized by the American flag hanging in the facility. This migration process establishes the hierarchy between abled and non-abled individuals, between immigrants and citizens, and between race, class, and gender. While this is just one example of Douglas’s theory represented through the immigration process, the distinct separation between the pure and impure in this case demonstrates an example of a symbolic public ritual seen in the above photo.
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/medical-examination-immigrants-ellis-island/2008-04
Comments
Post a Comment