Joshua Reno is professor and graduate director of anthropology at Binghamton University. He is the author of several books, including Military Waste: The Unexpected Consequences of Permanent War Readiness and, with Britt Halvorson, Imagining the Heartland: White Supremacy and the American Midwest.

• Preface: Writing in the Wan Chum GenreIntroductionChapter One: Aggressive StanceChapter Two: A Ticklish SubjectChapter Three: Technically SpeakingChapter Four: Significant OthersChapter Five: Cacas Ergo SumMmmmmmAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"Reno's [book] soars when it broaches taboos around disability and the question of which lives are worth living, and why…His treatment was gratifying for this linguistic anthropologist to read, as it showcases the usefulness of our theoretical tools for the anthropology of disability. It is also (if I'm being honest) a little humbling to see someone not trained as a linguistic anthropologist use those tools so adeptly to decenter the innatist speaking subject of Chomskyan linguistics, in a breezily erudite tour from Ray Birdwhistell and Edward T. Hall through Elizabeth Bates, Elinor Ochs, Bambi Schieffelin, Asta Cekaite, and the Goodwins. That genealogy only scratches the surface: If you never thought you needed a cultural history of tickling, you do, and Reno has written one.”

Joshua Reno is professor and graduate director of anthropology at Binghamton University. He is the author of several books, including Military Waste: The Unexpected Consequences of Permanent War Readiness and, with Britt Halvorson, Imagining the Heartland: White Supremacy and the American Midwest.

• Preface: Writing in the Wan Chum GenreIntroductionChapter One: Aggressive StanceChapter Two: A Ticklish SubjectChapter Three: Technically SpeakingChapter Four: Significant OthersChapter Five: Cacas Ergo SumMmmmmmAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"Reno's [book] soars when it broaches taboos around disability and the question of which lives are worth living, and why…His treatment was gratifying for this linguistic anthropologist to read, as it showcases the usefulness of our theoretical tools for the anthropology of disability. It is also (if I'm being honest) a little humbling to see someone not trained as a linguistic anthropologist use those tools so adeptly to decenter the innatist speaking subject of Chomskyan linguistics, in a breezily erudite tour from Ray Birdwhistell and Edward T. Hall through Elizabeth Bates, Elinor Ochs, Bambi Schieffelin, Asta Cekaite, and the Goodwins. That genealogy only scratches the surface: If you never thought you needed a cultural history of tickling, you do, and Reno has written one.”

Joshua Reno is professor and graduate director of anthropology at Binghamton University. He is the author of several books, including Military Waste: The Unexpected Consequences of Permanent War Readiness and, with Britt Halvorson, Imagining the Heartland: White Supremacy and the American Midwest.

• Preface: Writing in the Wan Chum GenreIntroductionChapter One: Aggressive StanceChapter Two: A Ticklish SubjectChapter Three: Technically SpeakingChapter Four: Significant OthersChapter Five: Cacas Ergo SumMmmmmmAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"Reno's [book] soars when it broaches taboos around disability and the question of which lives are worth living, and why…His treatment was gratifying for this linguistic anthropologist to read, as it showcases the usefulness of our theoretical tools for the anthropology of disability. It is also (if I'm being honest) a little humbling to see someone not trained as a linguistic anthropologist use those tools so adeptly to decenter the innatist speaking subject of Chomskyan linguistics, in a breezily erudite tour from Ray Birdwhistell and Edward T. Hall through Elizabeth Bates, Elinor Ochs, Bambi Schieffelin, Asta Cekaite, and the Goodwins. That genealogy only scratches the surface: If you never thought you needed a cultural history of tickling, you do, and Reno has written one.”