Description
Book Synopsis* Why has 'the discursive turn' been sidelined in the development of a social theory of disability, and what has been the result of this?
* How might a social theory of disability which fully incorporates the multidimensional and multifunctional role of language be described?
* What would such a theory contribute to a more inclusive understanding of 'discourse' and 'culture'?
The idea that disability is socially created has, in recent years, been increasingly legitimated within social, cultural and policy frameworks and structures which view disability as a form of social oppression. However, the materialist emphasis of these frameworks and structures has sidelined the growing recognition of the central role of language in social phenomena which has accompanied the 'linguistic turn' in social theory. As a result, little attention has been paid within Disability Studies to analysing the role of language in struggle and transformation in power relations and the engineering o
Trade Review"Most new books recycle existing thought, but occasionallya book comes along which offers a new set of ideas and a fresh perspective. This international compilation does both: it provides the familiar alongside the normal." - The Times Educational Supplement "Disability and the Dilemmas of Education and Justice pulls no punches. It is a relentless critique of our current special educational needs system and of those who work in it." - Special Children "A thought provoking and interesting book, that raises many valuable issues. Certainly worth a read for all involved in special education." - Education Review "I have for over 30 years been concerned with the education of students with a variety of disabilities and of various degrees of disability, andbelieved that I had acquired a knowledge of most of theproblems experienced by disabled people. However, after reading the essays containedin this book my eyes have been opened to a myriad of other problems experienced by them, and for me the essays have opened up new avenues of thought on education as it affects disabled students.The writing of this book has long been overdue." - EducationToday "...a must for students...It brings special needs into the wide cultural arena which seems to me to be where it must be located as we moveinto the twenty-first century." - British Educational Research Journal "This book is stronglyrecommendedto anyone involved in special education." - Educational Research "...a book that will inform and enlighten even the most veteran and knowledgeable members of the special education profession...At the same time, it is written in sufficient detail and with enough background information to allow its ideas to be accessible to newcomers or lay readers. Its authors'perspectives are fresh, informed by multiple sources and disciplines." - Qualitative Studies in Education
Table of ContentsSeries editor's preface
Introduction
reclaiming language in disability studies
Part one: Personal narratives
Inside aphasia
The wind gets in my way
I am more than my wheels
Depressed and disabled
some discursive problems with mental illness
Narrative identity and the disabled self
Part two: The social creation of disability identity
Why can't you be normal for once in your life? From a problem with no name to the emergency of a new category of difference
Unless otherwise stated
discourses of labelling and identity in coming out
Carving out a place to act
acquired impairment and contested identity
Discourse and identity
disabled children in mainstream high schools
Transforming disability identity through critical literacy and the cultural politics of language
Talking 'tragedy'
identity issues in the parental story of disability
Part three: Cultural discourses
Studying disability rhetorically
Modern slogan, ancient script
disability in the Chinese language
Bodies, brains and behaviour
the return of the three stooges in learning disability
Joseph F. Sullivan and the discourse of 'crippledom' in progressive America
Art and lies? Representations of disability on film
What they don't tell people with learning difficulties
Final accounts and the parasite people
Disability discourse, the principle of optimization and social change
Biographical notes
References
Index.
