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How is disability understood?: an examination of sociological approaches
- Author:
- THOMAS Carol
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 19(6), October 2004, pp.569-583.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper considers sociological understandings of what constitutes disability. Current meanings of disability in both disability studies and medical sociology are examined and compared, using selected articles from leading authors in each discipline as case studies. These disciplines are often represented as offering starkly contrasting approaches to disability, with their differences amounting to a disciplinary 'divide'. It is argued that, on closer inspection, common ground can be found between some writers in disability studies and medical sociology. It is suggested that this situation has arisen because, in disability studies, the social relational understanding of disability developed by Vic Finkelstein and Paul Hunt in the 1970s has been lost over time, overshadowed by the rise to prominence of its offspring: the social model of disability. The paper concludes with some reflections on the need to revive a social relational understanding of disability.
Gay men living with chronic illness or disability: a sociocultural, minority group perspective on mental fealth
- Authors:
- HANJORGIRIS William F., RATH Joseph F., O'NEILL John H.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 17(2), 2004, pp.25-41.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This paper examines the experiences of gay men living with disabilities or chronic illness from a social constructivist perspective. Emphasizing the sociocultural aspects of disability, such an approach recognizes that the questions asked and the answers given about disability are embedded in sociohistorical contexts, and that language both shapes and reveals underlying assumptions and behaviours related to disability. Using Kameny's concept of sociological minority, it is proposed that gay men and persons with disabilities constitute minority groups with experiences in common with those of other recognized minority groups. Implications for mental health practitioners providing services to gay men with disabilities are addressed. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)
The anti-social model of disability
- Authors:
- DEWSBURY Guy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 19(2), March 2004, pp.145-158.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Social theories are usually developed to enable a clearer understanding of a situation or problem. The 'Social Model' in various forms is currently the dominant model for researching disability, addressing disability from within a socio-political framework that draws substantially on a 'social constructionist' perspective. This article critiques some of the core sociological assumptions of the Social Model, questioning what 'work' this kind of theory does in informing a set of practical concerns around the design of assistive technologies, suggesting an alternative framework of analysis, supported by extensive ethnomethodologically informed ethnographic research
Implementing the social model of disability: theory and research
- Editors:
- BARNES Colin, MERCER Geof
- Publisher:
- Disability Press
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 233p.,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Leeds
This book contains 13 chapters on the theoretical and research implications of the social model of disability. Over the last three decades disability activists have established the social model of disability as a comprehensive critique of mainstream academic theories and policy approaches. The contributors, including established figures and newcomers to the field, raise a number of important controversies and concerns central to theorising and researching disability in the 21st century. Taken together they provide ample testimony to the continuing vitality of debates around the social model in disability studies.
'They are not like us and neither should they be': issues of teacher identity for teachers of pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties
- Author:
- JONES Phyllis
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 19(2), March 2004, pp.159-169.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article analyses notions of teacher identity for a group of teachers of pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Teacher identity is analysed from the perspective of the role it plays in supporting the teachers' ideas of being separate and different from their teaching colleagues in mainstream education. For some of the teachers this is manifested in an identity to a cause, which is deep rooted and complex. It is argued that teacher educators need to be aware of the potential influence of teacher identity when planning and delivering initial teacher training and continued professional development. This is particularly pertinent in a context of supporting greater shared professional identity between teachers who work in segregated and mainstream contexts. It is also argued that the development of the discourses of inclusion needs to take account of the complexities of these issues. Whilst engaged in a doctoral research project exploring teachers' views of how pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities learn, issues of teacher identity emerged as an important element in the teachers' discussions about their work. This article focuses upon these issues, particularly in relation to professional development and a changing school culture that explicitly expects greater inclusive practice. It appears that the discourse relating to identity is about continua, tensions and boundaries that continually interplay. In the author's developing understanding of issues of identity, she found the sociological paradigm helpful in offering an appreciation of identity that acknowledges the interplay between the individual and society. Notions of social identity, embracement and distancing offer a conceptual framework for appreciating the teachers' views in this study.
Social policy review 16: analysis and debate in social policy, 2004
- Editor:
- ELLISON Nick
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 298p.,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Annual selection of commissioned articles focusing on developments and debates in the UK, Europe and internationally.