Zina Weygand (born April 23

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

) is a French

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and emeritus researcher at the

Conservatoire national des arts et métiers A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

. She obtained her PhD from University Paris 1 in 1998. Weygand is a specialist of disability history, especially the history of blind people in France from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

to the beginning of the 20th century. She is part of the Annales School, and her scholarship focuses on the history of individual and collective representations of

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

, organisations supporting blind people, and the pedagogical techniques developed for blind pupils during the 18th and 19th century. She was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Research themes

Weygand has extensively published about the history of education for blind people. In her history of blind people in France, she examines the evolution of collective perceptions of blind people, from duplicitous beggars or powerless people needing Christian charity in the Middle Ages, to educable subjects in the late 18th century. She argues the interest of Enlightenment philosophers for the mechanisms of perception (especially John Locke and

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the '' Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promi ...

) has driven the support of French philanthropists, enabling

Valentin Haüy Valentin Haüy (pronounced ; 13 November 1745 – 19 March 1822) was the founder, in 1785, of the first school for the blind, the Institute for Blind Youth in Paris (now Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, or the ''National Institute for th ...

to open the first school for the blind. Weygand has also published long-forgotten memoirs and archives, such as the memoir of Thérèse-Adèle Husson, enabling scholars to better understand experiences of blind people of the past.

Publications

* ''The Blind in French Society from the Middle Ages to the Century of Louis Braille'', Stanford University Press, 2009 * ''Les causes de la cécité et les soins oculaires en France au début du XIXe siècle (1800-1815)'', Paris, CTNERHI, diffusion PUF, 1989, 332 p11. * ''Jacques Lusseyran, entre cécité et lumière'', Marion CHOTTIN, Céline ROUSSEL, Zina WEYGAND (dir.), Paris, Éditions Rue d'Ulm, Presses de l'École normale supérieure, 2019, 232p12

Recognition

* 2014: knight of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Notes and references

Content in this edit is partially translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at Zina Weygand; see its history for attribution. {{DEFAULTSORT:Weygand, Zina 1945 births Living people French women historians 20th-century French historians Disability studies academics 21st-century French historians