Individualistic models of personhood, such as those present in U.S. dominant culture, tend to marginalize, isolate, and blame people with non-typical behavior, and they may be treated as deviants. These models are in contrast to relational models of personhood, which are common in many parts of West Africa and tend to promote the social integration and community involvement of people with non-typical behavior. This paper, based on my fieldwork in the U.S. and Benin, is an attempt to link cultural constructions of personhood, as reflected in treatments of children with language delay, to the dominant cultural discourses on deviance. Current conclusions suggest that individualistic models of personhood, by marginalizing people with non-typical behavior, interpret the presence of people with non-typical behavior as an impediment to peace and social stability. In comparison, relational models of personhood tend to promote tolerance, acceptance, and respect for people with non-typical behavior. The purpose of this inquiry is to shed light on how constructions of personhood are linked to explanations of non-typical behavior, how these concepts both structure and are structured by dominant cultural ideologies about the establishment and maintenance of peace, equality, and social stability, and to explore how the interaction between models of personhood and dominant cultural discourses on deviance influence forms of structural violence.
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