scholarly journals The Norm___ and the Pathological

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Gotkin

<p>In this paper, I read <em>The Normal and the Pathological</em> by French philosopher Georges Canguilhem for what it can offer disability theory. I examine how the field has already taken up the text but further, I argue for <em>The Normal and the Pathological</em> as a keystone of disability theory (currently taken up with curiously reserved energy). I start with a précis on the text before offering a condensed citation analysis of the book. In the latter part of the paper, I suggest how the monograph might inform current conversations and I offer possibilities for it to deepen and complicate core notions about disability, including the social model, norms, normalcy, and the normate. I conclude by suggesting that Canguilhem’s philosophical intervention can be understood as "propulsive atavism" – an excavation of medical epistemology in order to map and reconfigure its legacies – and I propose this as one methodological template for disability scholarship.</p>

Author(s):  
Jasmine P. Brown ◽  
Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar

The condition of disability and disabled persons in society has shifted and transformed throughout time and history with the rise of medical interventions, capitalism, and disability advocacy. This article discusses the different theories and models that have dominated the study of disability and further explains the contributions of disability theory on disability identity, as well as the intersection of disability and race. Also, with the rise of the social model ideals, there has been an increase in advocacy and empowerment within the disability community. This article concludes with an overview of advocacy and empowerment interventions for and with individuals with disabilities and recommendations for future research in sociology.


Author(s):  
Jeremiah M. Moruri ◽  
Naftali K. Rop ◽  
Ruth J. Choge

Mainstreaming is a concept and practice of educating learners with challenges in regular education settings. Mainstreaming advocates for education of all categories of learners without discriminating the specific group of individuals with disabilities. The study sought to assess strategies used by teachers in readiness for mainstreaming of learners with special needs in public primary schools in Masaba South Sub County, Kisii County, Kenya. The study was underpinned by the Social Model of Disability theory. Simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 234 teachers while purposive sampling was used to select the 25 headteachers from the schools which were used in the study. Questionnaires were employed for data collection. A pilot study was carried out in one of the schools within the study area. The study adopted survey research design to investigate the study variables. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in analyzing data. The findings of the study found out that teachers’ attitude, professional development and experience influence mainstreaming. The study also observed that for mainstreaming to be achieved, the curriculum needs to be structured, teachers should be trained in special needs education, and the school environment should meet the needs of learners with special needs. It is recommendable that the government and all education stakeholders should jointly enhance expansion of facilities in the already established schools. This will encourage all teachers, trained or not to be ready to handle all categories of learners in the mainstream settings in Masaba South Sub County.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gibson

The following paper examines the cyberpunk transhumanist graphic novel Transmetropolitan through the theoretical lens of disability studies to demonstrate how science fiction, and in particular this series, illustrate and can influence how we think about disability, impairment and difference. While Transmetropolitan is most often read as a scathing political and social satire about abuse of power and the danger of political apathy, the comic series also provides readers with representations of impairment and the source of disability as understood by the Social Model of Disability (SMD). Focusing on the setting and fictional world in which Transmetropolitan takes place, as well as key events and illustration styling, this paper demonstrates that the narrative in this work encompasses many of the same theoretical underpinnings and criticisms of society’s ignorance of the cause of disability as the SMD does. This paper aims, by demonstrating how Transmetropolitan can be read as an allegory for the disabling potential of society as experienced by individuals with impairments, to prompt readers into thinking more creatively about how narratives, seemingly unconcerned with disability, are informed and can be understood via disability theory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Barkatullah Amin

Ulama in Banjar society take place as religious elite whose roles are very important. They used to be treated specially in practice, like being honored and respected. However, what if there is Ulama who is physically and mentally different (difabel). Do people treat differently? How do people then perceive it? This paper aims to see how the attitudes and views of people in the Banjar community towards the “Ulama-Difabel” – Islamic scholars with disabilities who participate in religious and community activities. This is a qualitative research with ethnography approach. It uses social model of disability theory. the results of this study explain that although the government has ratified the Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 19 of 2011 concerning the Ratification of the CRPD, however, it cannot be called as the sole reason for the establishment of an inclusive paradigm that develops in society in a dominant way. In spite of that, the Banjar people interpret the existence of diffable scholars as a transcendent phenomenon because of the normative influence, metaphysical, and theological (Islam Banjar) views which both encourage each other to form social constructs with a paradigm of the Social Model of Disability in Banjar society. This phenomenon is also affected by some factors like people’s understanding toward diffabled condition, culture, education, and religious doctrine accepted. Ulama dalam masyarakat Banjar menempati posisi sebagai elit keagamaan yang perannya sangat penting. Sehingga pada praktiknya ulama sering mendapatkan perlakuan spesial, seperti dimuliakan dan dihormati. Namun, bagaimana jika ada ulama yang memiliki perbedaan pada fisik ataupun mentalnya (difabel), apakah perlakuan masyarakat menjadi berbeda? Bagaimana kemudian masyarakat mempersepsikannya? Paper ini bertujuan untuk melihat bagaimana sikap dan pandangan masyarakat Banjar terhadap Ulama-Difabel yang turut serta dalam kegiatan keagamaan maupun kemasyarakatan. Kajian ini bersifat kualitatif dengan pendekatan etnografi. Pisau analisisnya menggunakan teori Social Model of Disability. Hasil kajian ini menunjukkan bahwa meskipun pemerintah telah meratifikasi Undang-Undang Negara Republik Indonesia Nomor 19 Tahun 2011 tentang Pengesahan CRPD, tetapi hal itu tidak bisa disebut sebagai satu-satunya alasan terbentuknya paradigma inklusif yang berkembang dalam masyarakat, yang  kemudian mempengaruhi cara pandang masyarakat secara dominan, tetapi lebih dari itu, masyarakat Banjar memaknai keberadaan Ulama-Difabel sebagai fenomena transenden, karena dipengaruhi oleh pandangan-pandangan normatif, metafisik dan teologis (Islam Banjar) yang kemudian keduanya saling mendorong terbangunnya konstruksi sosial berparadigma Social Model of Disability pada masyarakat Banjar. Fenomena ini juga dipengaruhi oleh faktor-faktor seperti; pemahaman masyarakat terhadap kondisi difabel itu sendiri, budaya, pendidikan, dan doktrin keagamaan yang diterima.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-63
Author(s):  
Angela Makris ◽  
Mahmooda Khaliq ◽  
Elizabeth Perkins

Background: One in four Americans have a disability but remain an overlooked minority population at risk for health care disparities. Adults with disabilities can be high users of primary care but often face unmet needs and poor-quality care. Providers lack training, knowledge and have biased practices and behaviors toward people with disabilities (PWD); which ultimately undermines their quality of care. Focus of the Article: The aim is to identify behavior change interventions for decreasing health care disparities for people with disabilities in a healthcare setting, determine whether those interventions used key features of social marketing and identify gaps in research and practice. Research Question: To what extent has the social marketing framework been used to improve health care for PWD by influencing the behavior of health care providers in a primary health care setting? Program Design/Approach: Scoping Review. Importance to the Social Marketing Field: Social marketing has a long and robust history in health education and public health promotion, yet limited work has been done in the disabilities sector. The social marketing framework encompasses the appropriate features to aligned with the core principles of the social model of disability, which espouses that the barriers for PWD lie within society and not within the individual. Incorporating elements of the social model of disability into the social marketing framework could foster a better understanding of the separation of impairment and disability in the healthcare sector and open a new area of research for the field. Results: Four articles were found that target primary care providers. Overall, the studies aimed to increase knowledge, mostly for clinically practices and processes, not clinical behavior change. None were designed to capture if initial knowledge gains led to changes in behavior toward PWD. Recommendations: The lack of published research provides an opportunity to investigate both the applicability and efficacy of social marketing in reducing health care disparities for PWD in a primary care setting. Integrating the social model of disability into the social marketing framework may be an avenue to inform future interventions aimed to increase health equity and inclusiveness through behavior change interventions at a systems level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 442-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthoula Malkopoulou ◽  
Ludvig Norman

Militant democracy relies on the idea that democracies ought to defend themselves from anti-democratic forces by constitutionalising repressive measures. We offer a criticism of this view by highlighting the exclusionary elitism on which militant democracy is built. In doing this, we consider two competing models of democratic self-defence: the procedural and the social. We suggest that the procedural model, while avoiding the exclusionary and other pitfalls of militant democracy, is detached from socio-political realities and fails to offer a comprehensive vision of democratic stability. The largely neglected social model of democratic self defence avoids this problem; it combines proceduralism’s commitment to dissensus with a social-democratic logic in the design of democratic constitutions. We argue in favour of such a social democratic self-defence and further develop this model around the guiding principle of political and social non-domination.


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