The medicalization of filth: pathologizing the immigrant Other in late 19th-century California
Liudanni（Corresponding author）

Basic Education College, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410000；

Abstract：This study investigates the role of discourse in shaping public consensus amidst societal anxieties surrounding the sanitary reform in late 19th-century California. Drawing on analytical frameworks from prejudiced discourse and cultural studies, this study scrutinizes the construction of targeted immigrants as the pathological Other within political and popular rhetoric. The research reveals that prejudiced discourse, underpinned by pseudo-scientific rationale, operated as a powerful mechanism for ascribing blame for societal ills, legitimizing exclusionary policies, and reinforcing social boundaries. The findings extend the understanding of the discursive mechanics behind policy legitimization in periods of crisis, and inform contemporary scholarship on the historical antecedents of social justice issues concerning immigration.

Keywords: prejudiced discourse；sanitation；19th century；immigration, identity

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