The study of disability has traditionally been influenced mainly by medical and psychological models. The aim of this new text, Disability and Society, is to open up the debate by introducing alternative perspectives reflecting the increasing sociological interest in this important topic. Disability and Society brings together for the first time some of the most recent original research in this rapidly expanding area. The contributors, both disabled and non-disabled, are all leading thinkers in their field and suggest new ways of understanding disability, developing policy and challenging current practice.
This edited collection brings together keynote articles from the journal Disability & Society to provide a comprehensive and though-provoking exploration of the place of technology in disabled people’s lives, documenting and analysing the growing impact of technology on disability and society over recent decades. The authors explore theoretical, empirical and moral dilemmas that arise with the changing relationship between technological change and the lives, aspirations and possibilities of disabled people. The volume is organised into three parts which consider early foundational work connecting disability and technology; key empirical studies related to the optimum use of technologies for independence and inclusion; and new moral and social dynamics thrown up by technological developments for disabled people’s lives.
In the 1980 s disabled scholars in the West began to develop a radical critique of biomedical conceptions of disability that focused exclusively on the individual body and its limitations. They also exposed the failure of the social sciences to critically address what this medical understanding of disability meant, and what it excluded from consideration. Out of their work emerged what is generally called the social model of disability. Over the past twenty years this perspective has generated a substantial literature, much of it making use of the methods of qualitative social research. Narratives and life histories produced by disabled people themselves have a central place in the Disability Studies literature. This work has major implications for professionals in the rehabilitation field, for the social sciences, and the ultimate goal, for the full integration of disabled people into society. However almost all of if focuses on the traditions, practices and dilemmas of northern countries. In India, in Thailand and in most of Asia, the field of disability continues to be dominated by the biomedical model. Thus, disability is understood as an incurable chronic illness and, increasingly, an object for medical diagnosis and investigation. Despite many positive developments, little convergence between disability politics and practice on the one hand, and sociology and anthropology on the other has taken place. Surveying the international literature on disability and rehabilitation, it becomes apparent that many studies carried out in Asian countries are designed to measure the extent of (unmet) need or the impact of services or attitudes to disabled people. Virtually no studies make use of the innovative, usually qualitative and often holistic approaches developed in Western countries over the past twenty years. This book introduces readers in Asian countries to the recent disability literature of the West. The editors hope that it will inspire new thinking among social scientist, rehabilitation professionals and organizations of disabled people themselves that could further the empowerment of people with disabilities.
This book provides a valuable route map to the development of thinking in disability studies over the last eighteen years. It includes over twenty essential articles from the journal Disability and Society, written by many of the leading authors in the field from the UK, the USA, Australia and Europe. Compiled by the current editors of the journal, it is divided into three sections which mirror the three central themes: disability studies – clearly illustrates the debates and challenges that have emerged within the field over the last two decades policy – offers a snapshot of social policy that has impinged on the lives of disabled people in many parts of the world research issues – reveals the inequalities between disabled and non-disabled people and the advocacy of new methods and research practices. The editors’ specially written introduction to each section contextualises the selection and introduces students to the main issues and current thinking in the field. Altogether this book is a rich source of ideas and insights covering conceptual, theoretical, empirical and cross-cultural issues and questions.
"Now in its second edition, this book presents the latest theories, concepts, issues, and practices related to the career development of people with disabilities.You'll get the most recent developments in legislation affecting employment, the business perspective on disability, occupational and labor market information, and much more. This text is essential for rehabilitation and vocational counselors, as well as for educators and researchers. In addition, Work and Disability is ideal for use in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses. Help individuals with disabilities understand the complex nature of work not only to attain and maintain work, but to help define themselves and their place in society." -- Publisher.
"In Music, Disability, and Society Alex Lubet identifies the utility of bringing a disability studies perspective to the field of music studies. His book helps to demonstrate not only the significance of disabled people's presence in the history of music, but, even more importantly, the difference that disability makes in the production of the art form itself. The work will help to spur new work in this interdisciplinary arena for years to come."---David Mitchell, Temple University --Book Jacket.
Rosalyn Darling offers a sweeping examination of disability identity, tracing its history and parsing the shifting forces that have shaped individual and societal understandings of ability and impairment across time.Darling focuses on the relationship between societal views and the self-conceptions of people with mental and physical impairments. She also illuminates the impact of the disability rights movement, life-course dynamics, and race and gender in creating a diversity of disability identities. Her seminal work reveals the remarkable resilience of individuals in the face of profound social and material barriers, at the same time that it enhances our understanding of the construction and experience of ¿difference¿ in our changing society.
The provision of assistive technology is an important individual and collective service of the welfare state. The state plays a significant role towards linking users and products, and the matching of devices and users is both a science and an art. However, many people feel it is stigmatising to use individually designed assistive technologies as they often, in a subtle way, convey discriminating barriers in society. The major challenges of assistive technology are thus to reduce social exclusion and marginalisation and, importantly, to reduce individual risks and societal costs related to non-use due to deficiencies in usability, aesthetics and design of the technologies. This groundbreaking book discusses the relationships among society, disability and technology by using different empirical examples (e.g., school, everyday life) to show why the combination of disability studies and STS-studies (science, technology and society) is a fruitful approach to understanding and meeting these challenges. The book explores the significance of the technologies for users, society and the field; identifies challenges to designing, adopting and using assistive technologies; and points at theoretical challenges in research as well as professional challenges in assistive technology service provision. The book also scrutinises the role of assistive technology devices, as well as the organisational structure of the assistive technology market, in relation to disabled people’s lives. This book will be valuable reading for students, academics, teachers and social educators interested in Disability Studies, STS Studies, Product Design, Sociology, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, as well as engineers working in the field of assistive technology.
The act of life is a lived experience, common and unique, that ties each of us to every other lived experience. The fact of disability does not alter this fundamental truth. In this edition of Rethinking Disability: World Perspectives in Culture and Society, we are presented with a system of thinking that considers the values of disability, as a resource, as a creative source of culture that moves disability out of the realm of victimized people and insurmountable barriers, and provides opportunities to use the experience of disability to enter into networks that recognize strengths of differing abilities. The authors within will intrigue you, will move you, will charm you, but always will challenge your notion of sameness and difference as they confront the construct and (de)construct of disability and ableism. They present compelling arguments for viewing disABILITY through the multiple lenses of disability culture. They explore themes and issues that transcend past and origins, time and place, nuances of genetics, to experiences of present and becoming, and towards the future and beyond mere human, yet always intrinsically connected to being human. This book is intended for all audiences who dare to confront difference and sameness within themselves and in connection with others; to inspire researchers who wish to explore, and examine disability across social, cultural and economic barriers. It is an invitation to push away the barriers, bring ableism inside to a place where the prosthesis is no longer the elephant in the room.
Over the last thirty years, the field of disability studies has emerged from the political activism of disabled people. In this challenging review of the field, leading disability academic and activist Tom Shakespeare argues that the social model theory has reached a dead end. Drawing on a critical realist perspective, Shakespeare promotes a pluralist, engaged and nuanced approach to disability. Key topics discussed include: dichotomies - the dangerous polarizations of medical model versus social model, impairment versus disability and disabled people versus non-disabled people identity - the drawbacks of the disability movement's emphasis on identity politics bioethics in disability - choices at the beginning and end of life and in the field of genetic and stem cell therapies care and social relationships - questions of intimacy and friendship. This stimulating and accessible book challenges orthodoxies in British disability studies, promoting a new conceptualization of disability and fresh research agenda. It is an invaluable resource for researchers and students in disability studies and sociology, as well as professionals, policy makers and activists.
