Ableism and Ability Studies

(2005) Legislating Disability: Negative Ontologies and Government of Identities, in Tremain, S. Foucault & the Government of Disability, University of Michigan Press,

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Selling the Cochlear Implant

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Campbell, F.K (2008). Exploring internalised Ableism using critical race theory, Disability & Society, 23 (2): 151 – 162.

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Campbell, F.A.K. (2009). Geodisability Knowledges - Watching for Global North Impositions, Development Bulletin, 73, 48-63.

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

This is a cut-down version of  a much longer & complex paper. This is a cut-down version of  a much longer & complex paper.

Geodisability Knowledge Production and International Norms: A Sri Lankan Case Study

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Preprint copy of paper to be published in the Third World Quarterly, 32(8), 2011?

Abstract

Disability is representational system and its denotation is a result of how communities make sense... more Abstract

Disability is representational system and its denotation is a result of how communities make sense of and mark corporeal differences. In this paper I argue that United Nations norm standard setting, a form of geodisability knowledge, determines the kinds of bodies known as disabled and acts as a technology of disability governmentality. The institutional strategic gaze, sited in the UN, examines, normalises and conditions Nation states. Without consensual international disability norms it would not be possible to disclose and make visible the dynamics of disability at a country level and for the WHO to map disability globally. An alternate reading of international norms is to figure the functioning of geodisability knowledge to naturalize through codifying hegemonic ways of seeing, citing and situating disability and thus colonise different cultural approaches to disability. A discussion of geodisability knowledge production is pursued within the context of a Sri Lankan case study.

The ‘reasonableness” of reasonable adjustment theory in disability law, polemics and paradoxes

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

14th – 15th September 2011

Keynote for
‘Theorizing Normalcy and the Mundane: 2nd International conference’
Manchester Metropolitan University
Gaskell Campus

audio keynote: more audio keynote: http://soundcloud.com/fionakumaricampbell/campbell


Working notes only:


Notions of normalcy and abledness prefigure conceptual frameworks of law. Law itself not only regulates the constitutional compartmentalization of abledness and disability, juridical systems of thought in effect bring into being what is sayable about disability and also proffer limits of citizenship in the realm of domestic and international laws. Disability studies has identified some enduring presuppositions that underpin disability policy and undercut the development of legal strategies aimed at social inclusion. One theme relates to ways to tackle the significant exclusion of disabled people from the labour market as employment is viewed not only from the viewpoint of economic productivity but also as a vehicle that enables contributory citizenship. The disabled person is rarely viewed as a normative citizen, rather as a (vulnerable) minority, an afterthought and hence ‘special interest’ group. Disabled people become partial citizens given the availability of economic reservations on equality claims in ways that would be unthinkable if the accommodations were gender or race related. A key mechanism that law uses to facilitate disabled peoples’ integration into the workforce and ongoing retention of employment status is through the adoption and utilization of the notion of reasonable adjustment (in the USA ‘accommodation’).
This keynote discusses how ‘reasonable’ is the concept of Reasonable Adjustment? The commitment to equality has followed a model based on equality as sameness where the orientation of anti-discrimination law has been on reducing differential behaviour attributed to presumed differences (e.g. gender, race). In contrast, facilitating the entry of disabled people into the labour market means that employers and the applicant are required to negotiate and foreground difference, the difference that impairment might make to productivity. ‘Accommodation’ or ‘adjustment’ has a ring of exceptionality about it, an extra gesture for which there should be gratitude. The paradigm of reasonableness introduces a normative quantum into the discussion. We may ask whether reasonable adjustment is a way of acknowledging the validity of disability difference – or is it really a provisional and limited mechanism that leaves intact existing ableist relations of corporeality?

Review of Contours of Ableism

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews November 2011 vol. 40 no. 6 694-695

Caroline Gray
Yale University
more
Caroline Gray
Yale University
cpgray@aya.yale.edu

Disability studies has solidified itself as a vibrant interdisciplinary field with the potential to transform and challenge not just how we think about disability but also to reframe the basic assumptions we make about what it means to be human beings. Rather than viewing disability as something inherently bad or problematic, disability studies aims to recast disability as a difference that should be valued. Despite its overwhelming potential, in the social sciences at least, disability studies still has not gained the attention it is rightly due. However, developments in the field of sociology, such as the recent formation of the Disability and Society section for the American Sociological Association suggest that this is changing.
Fiona Campbell’s recent book titled Contours of Ableism: The Production of Disability and Ableness offers a welcome addition to social scientific literature on disability. In particular, Contours of Ableism may be viewed as part of a growing literature in disability studies that emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between disability and ability or ableism, as Campbell refers to it. This literature positions disability in a broader discursive and normative framework where all bodies are subjected to normalizing scrutiny and regulation

Therapeutic bodily assistive devices and Paralympic athlete expectations in Winter Sport

by Gregor Wolbring

Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 22: 1. 51-57

Objective: To ascertain the impact of therapeutic bodily assistive
devices that enable beyond-the-normal body... more Objective: To ascertain the impact of therapeutic bodily assistive
devices that enable beyond-the-normal body abilities on sport in
general and the Paralympics and Olympics in particular.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Setting: Online.
Participants: Members of the National Council on Rehabilitation
Education (United States). Distribution of online survey link to
membership.
Assessment of Risk Factors: The survey used a combination
of 37 simple yes or no, Likert scale, and opinion rating scale
questions. This article is based on 4 of the 37 questions that focus on
the impact of therapeutic enhancements on various aspects of sport.
Main Outcome Measures: Whether respondents felt that there
is an impact of therapeutic bodily assistive devices that enable
beyond-the-normal body abilities on the participation of people
with disabilities in sport of all levels and the self-identity of
athletes with disabilities. Secondary outcome measure was what
the respondents felt the impact may be.
Results: The respondents indicated that therapeutic bodily assistive
devices, which enable beyond-the-normal body abilities, will have
an impact on participation of people with disabilities in sport at all
levels and on the self-identity of athletes with disabilities.
Conclusions: Given the result that the respondents felt that
therapeutic enhancements will impact various aspects of sport, it
may be prudent to initiate a broader discourse around therapeutic
enhancement and to revise codes of ethics so that they give guidance
on this topic.
Key Words: therapeutic enhancement, Paralympian, techno-doping,
future, athletes
(Clin J Sport Med 2012;22:51–57)

Therapeutic Enhancements and the View of Rehabilitation Educators

by Gregor Wolbring

open access
Dilemata Journal of Applied Ethics 8. 169-183

So far, the meaning of health and therefore treatment and rehabilitation is benchmarked to the normal or species... more So far, the meaning of health and therefore treatment and rehabilitation is benchmarked to the normal or species typical body. Therapeutic interventions increasingly have the potential to generate beyond the ‘normal’ bodily abilities (therapeutic enhancements) The field of rehabilitation, the desire for certain especially beyond species-typical body abilities and the direction and governance of science and technology are becoming increasingly interrelated. How we judge and deal with bodily abilities, or the lack of them, among others influences the direction and governance of science and technology processes, products and research and development and influence the meaning and scope of health and rehabilitation, the identity and job description of health and rehabilitation professionals, the desires of health and rehabilitation clients. This paper presents the results of an exploratory, non-probability survey of National Council of Rehabilitation Educators (USA) members seeking their views on issues of bodily enhancement and their impact on health and rehabilitation professions. The majority surveyed perceived human enhancements beyond the ‘normal’ and the attached changes as unavoidable. The results indicate that it is high time that the enhancement discourse moves outside the ethics realm and that impact analysis of beyond the normal enhancement is performed that includes so far mostly invisible health and rehabilitation professionals, their clients and disability policy scholars.

Voices of “disabled” post secondary students: Examining higher education “disability” policy using an ableism lens

by Gregor Wolbring

Authors Emily J Hutcheon (my student); Gregor Wolbring;
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 5: 1. online first Feb

if you can not access it through your University feel free to contact us

A comprehensive understanding of the experiences of post secondary students with
diverse abilities is needed. The... more A comprehensive understanding of the experiences of post secondary students with
diverse abilities is needed. The ways in which ‘disabled’ postsecondary students make
meaning of their experiences in postsecondary education was explored. Eight participants
(self-identified disabled post secondary students) were recruited from post secondary
institutions in Calgary, Alberta. Five themes (hegemonic voice, voice of the
body, voice of silence, voice of assertion, voice of change) were identified within a
body-social-self framework. Findings demonstrate a continued need for critical examination
of higher education policy and its capacity to address differences in ability. The
concept of ableism (hegemonic ability preferences which inaugurate the norm) is
presented and is demonstrated to be of utility as an analytical lens. Findings are highly
anticipated to address existing literature gaps and to be of importance to policymakers,
researchers, and ability-diverse student populations.

Narratives of Violence: The Relationship of Masculinity and Ableism

by Thomas Saczkowski

Seeking Publication

The purpose of this thesis is to conduct a theoretical analysis that will add to current feminist perspectives on... more The purpose of this thesis is to conduct a theoretical analysis that will add to current feminist perspectives on gender identity dynamics in disability studies.  In particular, my work focuses on examining the relationship between masculinity and ableism. This theoretical analysis will examine how these two social constructions are intertwined and rely on each other to maintain power and influence. I will describe how this relationship operates through systemic violence and physical violence by social structures and social actors. I will be investigating masculinity by using a dialectical inquiry, which will explain masculinity as a variating identity in which the values and characteristics of masculinity is contingent on the social location (Bannerji, 1993).  I will primarily be looking at the relationship between masculinity and ableism, however I will understand this relationship in conjunction with other social relations such as racism and classism (Bannerji, 2001; Gorman, 2005). 
Using a dialectical method I will highlight the relations of ableism to masculinity within the context of my experiences as a white middle class man from Southern Ontario.  The inspiration for this research comes from my lived experiences and from a critical engagement with my identity, which includes an understanding of the social factors that form masculine gender identities and ability. Personal narratives will be used in each section to provide lived experience to the theoretical analysis of masculinities and ableism. My personal knowledge will be integrated into my theoretical analysis to provide an accessible and tangible study (Smith, 1987).  The theoretical content of this paper will be guided by the narratives as I will use the theory to explicate the social concepts in the experiences that I present.  This will allow me to provide a particular definition of the concepts that I present, such as ‘masculinity-ableism’, from a specific location.  I will utilize Dorothy Smith’s (1987) standpoint theory in this self-reflexive methodology to understand the class, gender, and power relations that are imbedded into the narratives and masculinity-ableism. The context of these examples and my personal narratives will be examining the dialectical relationship of masculinity and ableism in the geolocation of rural Southern Ontario which is predominantly white and middle class in socioeconomic standing.  The project is organized into four different sections: (1) methodology; (2) systemic violence through class structures; (3) boys physical violence; and (4) the implications for community organizing.

Xings; in search of playful artefacts for the accessibility of a shared moment

by henrik svarrer larsen

Master thesis Interaction design (pictures deleted to ensure anonymity)

A practical and theoretical study of how a design space –conceptualised as a creative construct of distinctions– for a... more A practical and theoretical study of how a design space –conceptualised as a creative construct of distinctions– for a complex context of social interplay, families, child development and disabilities can be explored through design experiments. The design framing addresses the interplay and being-togetherness around tangible artefacts in families with children that has profound and multiple disabilities and is informed by social theory as well practical knowledge from the field of Multi-Sensory Environments. Design experiments is constructed on basis of distinctions emerging from the design framing and explored as means to let users affect the design process at an earlier stage than prototypes and more aimed than with technology probes. Tangible participation is suggested as a feasible way for the child without language or abstract thoughts to take part in the design process. For this rather sturdy yet crude design artefacts –labelled Rou-Phi Probes– is used for probing in a family. These artefacts can be seen as polarised materialisations of design space distinctions, that the user through actions can respond to as if they were open questions. The outcome of this thesis is not a design concept, but primarily methodological reflections with a basis in the 'research through design' activities of intervening with tangible digital technology, as well as reflections on interactive aesthetics.
Terms
Design experiments, design methodology, design space, ideals of interaction, (re)habilitation, research artefacts, research through design, social interaction, tangible computing, technology probes.

Campbell, F.K. (2008). Refusing Able(ness): A Preliminary Conversation about Ableism, M/C - Media and Culture, 11(3), -‘able’. (Jul. 2008). 03 Jul. 2008 <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/46>.

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Campbell, F.A.K. (2004). The Case of Clint Hallam's Wayward Hand: Print media Representations of the 'Unco-operative' Patient', Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, September, 9(3): 447 – 462.

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Born this Way? Lady Gaga's Crip Performance of the Wheelchair

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

http://www.griffith.edu.au/criminology-law/griffith-law-school/news-events/news/lady-gaga-crip-performance-wheelchair/

Short, OpEd piece for the Griffith law School web page, 19 July 2011 Short, OpEd piece for the Griffith law School web page, 19 July 2011

Out of the Shadows: Resilience and Living with Ableism

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Please note this paper is a composite of previous work with some new additions - it's very rough. I have put it up here because of requests as it has  taken longer to revise it (new job). I will pull it down from this site when it is revised. Any comments on argument would be gratefully received.

James Overboe (2007) and Fiona Kumari Campbell (2008, 2009)  noted that disabled people experience reality... more James Overboe (2007) and Fiona Kumari Campbell (2008, 2009)  noted that disabled people experience reality through the prism of a 'normative shadow' which assumes the preferability of abledness and holds that disability is inherently negative and harmful. Whilst disabled people may experience periodic acute attacks on the integrity of their person in the form of hate crimes & the denial of access to goods and services, Campbell (2009) has argued that day-to-day, business as usual experiences of ableism not only wear disabled people and their families down, but can lead to internalised ableism. This seminar extends Campbell’s work through a discussion about the strategy to promote resiliency skills in the lives of disabled people to firstly reduce the effects of ableist harms/oppression and secondly as a tactic of resistance.

Listening & Voice: Encounters with Memory & the Politics of Regret

by Fiona Kumari Campbell

Disability Studies Conference
Centre for Disability Research
Lancaster University, U.K.

7th-9th September, 2010

In the quest to normalize disabled people the particular ways that disabled peoples’ being-ness has... more


In the quest to normalize disabled people the particular ways that disabled peoples’ being-ness has been shaped and formed is often overlooked. Unthinking disability, relegating it to an afterthought, has meant that listening for differences, the silences and the effects of accumulated ableism has not been placed at centre stage (Campbell, 2009). Derrida points out, silence is the origin, the font of all speaking, whereby "silence plays the irreducible role of that which bears and haunts language, outside and against which alone language can emerge" (1978: 54). What is silent is that disabled people as a group and as individuals, I/you have a crip-specific history. If this history is spoken of, it is normally in terms of a history of services – but this is not the same as our history which for many has not only left indelible scars but has intrinsically shaped and formed us.

This paper is a discussion of the processes and politics of listening to difference – different histories, embracing that difference and not subsuming it into an ableist norm. In particular the paper is interested in the accumulative effects of ableism and the negotiation of private and public memory regarding disabled person’s relations with the Australian State. My analysis draws heavily on the work of Connerton, 1989; Farrell, 1998; van Alphen, 1999; and the development and application of notions of ‘grievability’, the ‘grievable life’ (Butler, 2009), ‘regret & guilt’ (Olick, 2007; Schlink, 2009), ‘muted voices’ (Kuhrt & Sancisi-Weerdenburg, 1990) traditionally not specifically applied to disabled people. The challenge is to log survival in an ableist society, to grasp it’s incompatibility and incomprehensibility “…between experiences and the affected person’s capacity to report it due to the fact that real events do not offer themselves in the form of stories” (Reiter, 2005, 13).

It has been nearly thirty years since the commencement of the decarceration of disabled people from institutions and the embrace of a discourse of social inclusion. Drawing upon the discussion of listening and the making of ‘oppositional voice’, the paper also explores the politics of regret  and the  ways memorialisation is signified in the light of recent public apologies by government (indigenous stolen generation, English child migrants), Australian disability policy and contemporary campaigning to close existing institutions as part of the “Shut Out” campaign. Of interest is the different ways ‘voice’ is harnessed to negotiate the disabled past. Finally the mechanisms of accountability to the unheard and the problems of speaking for others are considered with referencing to a relationality model of disability which understands disability to be formed through faulty relations (Hamonet, 2006).

Ableism, disability studies and the academy

by Gregor Wolbring

This entry is part of a collaborative series on disabilities between the Federation’s Equity Issues Portfolio and the... more This entry is part of a collaborative series on disabilities between the Federation’s Equity Issues Portfolio and the Canadian Disability Studies Association/ Association Canadienne des Études sur l’Incapacité.

The theoretical framework and analytical lens of Ableism is a gift to the social sciences and humanities community from disability studies and the disabled people rights movement.

Fixated on Ability

by Vivian May

Co-authored with Beth A. Ferri in Prose Studies 27.1&2 (2005) 120-40

Disabled People as Culturally Relevant Teachers,

by Gail L. Pritchard

Journal of Social Inclusion, Vol 1, No 1 (2010), Online at
http://www104.griffith.edu.au/index.php/inclusion/article/view/168

This paper contends that disabled teachers are in such short supply as to be invisible even amongst minority teachers... more This paper contends that disabled teachers are in such short supply as to be invisible even amongst minority teachers from already vastly marginalised populations. This is not simply because discriminatory practices are embedded within employment policies of educational systems, but deeply held socio-cultural attitudes also prevent disabled people accessing and attaining basic and later, higher levels of academic achievement. The central argument here is a simple one; disabled people as teachers offer a unique knowledge standpoint, challenge the animosity of dominant cultural beliefs around disability as analogous with passivity or non-achieving, and provide a source of resistance, solace and resolution for students they teach. Disabled people as educators enact exemplary pedagogic justice and socially inclusive practice. The aim of this paper is to explore the benefits to students and places of higher education alike of embracing both the person and the role of the teacher with disability as culturally relevant educators.

Keywords: minority teachers, marginality, disability, cultural relevance, higher education