scholarly journals Imagining Accessibility: Theorizing Disability in Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Holder
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Disability Studies ◽  
Short Fiction ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Medical Model Of Disability ◽  
Selection Of

With its emphasis on futurity, its close association with scientific plausibility, and its dedicated interrogation of contemporary ideologies, science fiction stands as a genre ripe with possibilities for disability studies. Many scholars have used the genre and its texts as platforms from which to either condemn or laud representations of disability within a field explicitly concerned with a society's future. My essay contributes to this discussion by foregrounding a science fiction text to theorize what a disabled future looks like. I take as my primary text a selection of short fiction from Uncanny Magazine, an online magazine that published a disability-themed issue Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction in 2018. The stories contained are penned exclusively by authors that identify as disabled; their visions of a disabled future, then, emerge from the contemporary experience of the disabled community. In addition to centering themselves in the discourse, these writers envision a disabled future as one that emphasizes community and frequently critiques and interrogates the costs, emotional and physical, inherent in the medical model of disability, announcing that a truly disabled future is one that features rather than erases the disabled mind and body. Running with the banner of destroying SF, these writers challenge the conventional, harmful tropes that SF has perpetuated and erects in its place an inclusive, intersectional, and disabled future.

scholarly journals Rehabilitation as a Disability Equality Issue: A Conceptual Shift for Disability Studies?

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Shakespeare ◽  
Harriet Cooper ◽  
Dikmen Bezmez ◽  
Fiona Poland
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Disability Studies ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Rehabilitation Science ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Conceptual Shift ◽  
New Research ◽  
Rehabilitation Sciences

Rehabilitation is a controversial subject in disability studies, often discussed in terms of oppression, normalisation, and unwanted intrusion. While there may be good reasons for positioning rehabilitation in this way, this has also meant that, as a lived experience, it is under-researched and neglected in disabilities literature, as we show by surveying leading disability studies journals. With some notable exceptions, rehabilitation research has remained the preserve of the rehabilitation sciences, and such studies have rarely included the voices of disabled people themselves, as we also demonstrate by surveying a cross-section of rehabilitation science literature. Next, drawing on new research, we argue for reframing access to rehabilitation as a disability equality issue. Through in-depth discussion of two case studies, we demonstrate that rehabilitation can be a tool for inclusion and for supporting an equal life. Indeed, we contend that rehabilitation merits disability researchers’ sustained engagement, precisely to ensure that a ‘right-based rehabilitation’ policy and practice can be developed, which is <em>not</em> oppressive, but reflects the views and experiences of the disabled people who rehabilitation should serve.

The Minded Body in Technology and Disability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Shew
Keyword(s):  
Disability Studies ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Technology Leaders ◽  
Mind And Body

This chapter critically examines futuristic and transhumanist rhetoric about cyborg bodies, exoskeletons, and prostheses in the context of traditional philosophical accounts of the nature of mind and body. Finding that these whiz-bang accounts of future tech and the nature of body and mind mutually reinforce each other, this chapter then argues that a critical lens from disability studies provides better ways to talk about the experience of mind and body, and that the affirmation of cyborg expertise is crucial to reconsidering and re-forming both a philosophy of bodyminds and of our technological futures. Cast as first-adopters while also being imagined away (with the idea that technologies will make us nondisabled), technologized disabled people (or cyborgs) have ideas about bodies and technology that don’t match the technological dreams of elite designers and technology leaders. Relying on the testimony and experiences of disabled people helps us reimagine our technological futures.

Fiction

2019 ◽  
pp. 171-232
Author(s):  
David Cunning
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Political Capital ◽  
Main Character ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Selection Of

This chapter features a selection of excerpts from Cavendish’s stories and plays. The passages treat a number of topics and issues: agency; authority; imagination; rhetoric; gender; feminism; social and political capital; the interdependence of creatures; government; war; materialism; the relationship between mind and body; ideas as imagistic pictures; theology; and poetry. In Blazing World, perhaps the first piece of science fiction ever written, Cavendish has her main character (eventually the Empress) transported to an alternate world whose inhabitants take seriously the prospect of a woman in a position of authority, for example as a scientist, mathematician, military strategist, and philosopher. In Bell in Campo, Lady Victoria is regarded as a military authority by a critical mass of the women in her community; she leads them to battle, executes a clever strategy to steal weapons from the enemy, and rescues the male army from defeat. In The She-Anchoret, the main character receives audience after audience of individuals who seek her wisdom and counsel on matters scientific, philosophical, mathematical, political, and theological, to name just a few. All three characters inhabit counterfactual environments that are not antagonistic to the development and reception of their skills and capacities, and they flourish.

scholarly journals Magic on Wheels: A Study of Re-engagement, Re-enactment and Re-staging the Stereotypes of Performativity and Performance of Persons with Disabilities in the Choreography of Syed Sallauddin Pasha

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Radhika Sharma ◽  
◽  
Nagendra Kumar ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Disability Studies ◽  
Performance Studies ◽  
Performing Arts ◽  
The Body ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Art And Activism

Amidst society’s segregation of the people among minorities on the basis of gender, race, caste and creed, it is difficult to locate the position of another extreme social minority, i.e. persons with disabilities. But the turn of the century has validated some art and activism performed by persons with disabilities due to which the disabled have marked their position in literature, film and media to some extent, yet they have not secured a position of dignity in the mainstream. To make disabled people visible, Syed Sallauddin Pasha (the father of Indian dance therapy for persons with disabilities) initiates his own Natya Shastra i.e. Classical Wheelchair Dances for differently-abled artists. Drawing upon Syed Sallauddin Pasha’s therapeutic dance choreography, the present paper studies performance arts in the context of differently-abled people, and for this, the paper explores the intersection of Performance Studies and Disability Studies. In performing arts (or dance in particular), the body is the medium of representation, likewise, the body defines the identity in the context of disabled people. Therefore, the paper by studying the intersection of Disability Studies and Performance Studies, explores the stereotypes related to the body by scrutinising the disabled dance bodies on the stage. The paper further attempts to explore the idea of accessibility for persons with disabilities by taking into account the assistive devices and accessible architecture. The study then goes into an analysis of spectators’ response, stare and gaze towards disability dance performances. In a broader context, the paper offers to scrutinise the negative stereotypes attached to disability and disabled dancing bodies on stage by exploring the nuances in Syed Sallauddin Pasha’s choreography.

scholarly journals Combating Social Exclusion Faced by Disabled People in the Wage Labour Market in Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-561
Author(s):  
Ruby C. M. Chau ◽  
Sam W. K. Yu ◽  
Kathy Boxall
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Social Model Of Disability ◽  
Wage Labour ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Medical Model Of Disability

This article contributes to the search for suitable approaches to combat social exclusion faced by disabled people in capitalist wage labour markets. Referring to policy and service examples in Hong Kong, it reviews four social exclusion approaches – the Moral Underclass (MUD), Social Integrationist (SID), Redistributive (RED) and Collective Production (COP) approaches. These approaches are explored in relation to three key issues: (1) the diverse preferences of disabled people; (2) the myth of infeasibility regarding unconventional approaches and (3) the defects of the medical model of disability. The article argues that the MUD and SID approaches are more associated with the medical model of disability and emphasise individual changes. The RED and COP approaches contain more features of the social model of disability and are in favour of social and structural changes. The COP approach stresses the diverse preferences of disabled people and supports innovative services to combat social exclusion.

Human Factors Design Guidelines for the Disabled

1989 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 490-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Selection Of

In an effort to develop human factors guidelines for designing consumer products for the disabled a series of interviews and surveys were conducted in the homes of noninstitutionalized disabled people. The study covered a variety of disabilities, and where possible, individuals with several different levels of a given disability were included. A detailed set of recommendations of specific controls for use on products to be used by disabled people was found to be impractical because interfaces which are desirable to one disabled person are often a bad choice for another. The greatest problem for most disabled consumers is the variety of controls often found on a product. If one key control is inoperable by a person, the product may be unusable for that person. A preferred method for designing for the disabled is to use less variety in the selection of controls on each product. By reducing the within product variability along certain key design dimensions an individual capable of using some of the controls is more likely to be able to use them all.

scholarly journals THE POWER OF THE DISABLED: FLANNERY O'CONNOR’S “THE LAME SHALL ENTER FIRST”

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (88) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Disability Studies ◽  
American South ◽  
The Other ◽  
Flannery O'connor ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Evil Nature ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The American South

Flannery O'Connor’s (1925-1964) "The Lame Shall Enter First" (1962) deals with three characters: Sheppard, a widower, his son Norton, a ten years old boy and Rufus, a miscreant teenager, whom Norton dislikes. Rufus has a clubfoot, is very intelligent and fond of violence. Sheppard is a philanthropist and likes to help Rufus inviting him to live with them, contrary to Norton’s wishes. In fact, Rufus despises Sheppard, resists help and is aware of his own evil nature. He makes Sheppard embarrassed and causes Norton’s death deliberately, leaving both of them as victims. O’Connor in this context, de/reconstructs the prejudice against the disabled people; in the American South the disabled are regarded as evil characters. On the other hand, although it is generally accepted that the disabled people are good, she shows them as ordinary people having both good and wicked sides. Moreover, they may refuse help and prove personality despite the fact that non-disabled people are inclined or regard it duty to help them. She problematizes the disabled body as ‘the other/marginalized’ being pitiful and pitied. Thus, it becomes clear that O’Connor acknowledges the disabled people as normal as the non-disabled, or powerful, not physically but spiritually and intellectually. The tenets of ‘Disability Studies’ are insightful to discuss the work. Keywords: Flannery O'Connor, "The Lame Shall Enter First", “Disability Studies”, American South

scholarly journals Social Model: A New Approach of the Disability Theme

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 816-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Neves da Silva Bampi ◽  
Dirce Guilhem ◽  
Elioenai Dornelles Alves
Keyword(s):  
Medical Model ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Social Injustice ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Medical Model Of Disability ◽  
Points Of View

The experience of disability is part of the daily lives of people who have a disease, lesion or corporal limitation. Disability is still understood as personal bad luck; moreover, from the social and political points of view, the disabled are seen as a minority. The aim of this study is to contribute to the knowledge about the experience of disability. The research presents a new approach on the theme: the social model. This approach appeared as an alternative to the medical model of disability, which sees the lesion as the primary cause of social inequality and of the disadvantages experienced by the disabled, ignoring the role of social structures in their oppression and marginalization. The study permits reflecting on how the difficulties and barriers society imposed on people considered different make disability a reality and portray social injustice and the vulnerability situation lived by excluded groups.

The Yellow Wall-Paper and Other Stories

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Short Fiction ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Charlotte Perkins Gilman ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Selection Of

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was America's leading feminist intellectual of the early twentieth century. The Yellow Wall-Paper and Other Stories makes available the fullest selection of her short fiction ever printed. In addition to her pioneering masterpiece, ‘The Yellow Wall-Paper’ (1890), which draws on her own experience of depression and insanity, this edition features her Impress ‘story studies’, works in the manner of writers such as James, Twain, and Kipling. These stories, together with other fiction from her neglected California period (1890-5), throw new light on Gilman as a practitioner of the art of fiction. In her Forerunner stories she repeatedly explores the situation of ‘the woman of fifty’ and inspires reform by imagining workable solutions to a range of personal and social problems.

Disability and Work During the Industrial Revolution in Britain

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Blackie
Keyword(s):  
Disability Studies ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Coal Industry ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Industrial Sites ◽  
The Past ◽  
Paid Employment

A common claim in disability studies is that industrialization has marginalized disabled people by limiting their access to paid employment. This claim is empirically weak and rests on simplified accounts of industrialization. Use of the British coal industry during the period 1780–1880 as a case study shows that reassessment of the effect of the Industrial Revolution is in order. The Industrial Revolution was not as detrimental to the lives of disabled people as has often been assumed. While utopian workplaces for disabled people hardly existed, industrial sites of work did accommodate quite a large number of workers with impairments. More attention therefore needs to be paid to neglected or marginalized features of industrial development in the theorization of disability. Drawing on historical research on disability in the industrial workplace will help scholars better understand the significance of industrialization to the lives of disabled people, both in the past and the present.

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