Disability studies is an interdisciplinary field of study, which is focused on the contributions, experiences, history, and culture of people with
disabilitiesDisability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities."...
. The field of teaching and research in the area of disability studies is growing worldwide.
The scope of disability studies differs in different countries. In the UK, for instance, it is seen as the province of disabled people, whereas in the USA a much wider range of professions concerned with disabilities and disabled people is involved.
Disability studies is based on the premise that the disadvantage typically experienced by those who are disabled reflects primarily the way
societySociety or human society is the manner or condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit. By extension, society denotes the people of a region or country, sometimes even the world, taken as a whole....
defines and responds to certain types of 'difference'.
http://www.ryerson.ca/ds/
In 1993 an official definition of disability studies was adopted by the Society for Disability Studies, a professional organization of academics from around the world.
The Society for Disability Studies offers the following working guidelines for any program that describes itself as 'Disability Studies':
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/sds/generalinfo.html#4
- It should be interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Disability studies' Start a new discussion about 'Disability studies' Answer questions from other users |
Disability studies is an interdisciplinary field of study, which is focused on the contributions, experiences, history, and culture of people with
disabilitiesDisability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities."...
. The field of teaching and research in the area of disability studies is growing worldwide.
The scope of disability studies differs in different countries. In the UK, for instance, it is seen as the province of disabled people, whereas in the USA a much wider range of professions concerned with disabilities and disabled people is involved.
Disability studies is based on the premise that the disadvantage typically experienced by those who are disabled reflects primarily the way
societySociety or human society is the manner or condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit. By extension, society denotes the people of a region or country, sometimes even the world, taken as a whole....
defines and responds to certain types of 'difference'.
http://www.ryerson.ca/ds/
In 1993 an official definition of disability studies was adopted by the Society for Disability Studies, a professional organization of academics from around the world.
The Society for Disability Studies offers the following working guidelines for any program that describes itself as 'Disability Studies':
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/sds/generalinfo.html#4
- It should be interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary. Disability sits at the center of many overlapping disciplines in the humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural and social sciences....
, sciencesAn exact science is any field of science capable of accurate quantitative expression or precise predictions and rigorous methods of testing hypotheses, especially reproducible experiments involving quantifiable predictions and measurements...
, and social sciences. Programs in Disability Studies should encourage a curriculum that allows students, activists, teachers, artists, practitioners, and researchers to engage the subject matter from various disciplinary perspectives.
- It should challenge the view of disability as an individual deficit or defect that can be remedied solely through medical intervention or rehabilitation by "experts" and other service providers. Rather, a program in disability studies should explore models and theories that examine social, political, cultural, and economic factors that define disability and help determine personal and collective responses to difference. At the same time, Disability Studies should work to de-stigmatize
Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are perceived to be against cultural norms. Stigma is often based on ignorance, irrational or unfounded fears, mass hysteria, lack of education, or a lack of information pertaining to a particular person or group...
disease, illness, and impairment, including those that cannot be measured or explained by biological science. Finally, while acknowledging that medical research and intervention can be useful, Disability Studies should interrogate the connections between medical practice and stigmatizing disability.
- It should study national and international perspectives, policies, literature
Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" , and therefore the academic study of literature is known as Letters...
, cultureCulture is a term that has different meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, and historyHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
with an aim of placing current ideas of disability within their broadest possible context. Since attitudes toward disability have not been the same across times and places, much can be gained by learning from these other experiences.
- It should actively encourage participation by disabled students and faculty, and should ensure physical and intellectual access.
- It should make it a priority to have leadership positions held by disabled people; at the same time it is important to create an environment where contributions from anyone who shares the above goals are welcome.
Criticism
Disability studies is not without its critics.
http://www.la-articles.org.uk/dsi.pdf. It has been suggested that the dominant social model, which developed in the 1970s and has served its purpose well since then, has now been outgrown, and needs major developments.
One major area of contention is the exclusion of the personal experience of impairment and illness. The social model of disability separates physical impairment from social disability, and in its most rigid form does not accept that impairment can cause disability at all. It is being increasingly recognised that the effects of impairment form a central part of many disabled people's experience, and that these effects must be included for the social model to be a valid reflection of that experience. The feminist slogan "the personal is political" has been particularly influential in these developments.
Disability studies has also been criticised for its failure to engage with multiple forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism or homophobia. As a relatively new discipline, it is true that as yet disability studies has seen little progress in this area: publications are now beginning to emerge though, and in time it is hoped that this issue will be fully engaged.
Literature
- David Johnstone, An Introduction to Disability Studies, David Fulton Publishers Ltd 2001
- Lennard Davis (ed.), Disability Studies Reader, Routledge 1997
- Gary L. Albrecht, (ed.), Encyclopedia of Disability. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 2006, 5 v., ill
- Simi Linton, Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity, in series 'Cultural Front', Michael Berube (ed.), New York University Press 1998
- Elizabeth DePoy & Stephen Gilson, Rethinking Disability: Principles for Professional and Social Change. Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth 2004.
See also
- Developmental disability
Developmental disability is a term used to describe life-long, disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical or combination of mental and physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18...
- inclusion (disability rights)
Inclusion is a term used by people with disabilities and other disability rights advocates for the idea that all people should freely, openly and without pity accommodate any person with a disability without restrictions or limitations of any kind...
- Social model of disability
The social model of disability proposes that systemic barriers, negative attitudes and exclusion by society are the ultimate factors defining who is disabled and who is not in a particular society...
- Society for Disability Studies
- Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
- Matching Person & Technology Model
The Matching Person & Technology Model organizes influences on the successful use of a variety of technologies: Assistive Technology, Educational Technology, and those used in the workplace, school, home; for healthcare, for mobility and performing daily activities...
External links