Disability Studies

Disability studies examines disability as a social and political phenomenon rather than only a medical condition, and the rights and inclusion of disabled people.

Scope

It covers the social model of disability, disability rights and policy, identity and culture, and debates over impairment and disability.

Core questions

• What is disability — medical condition or social construction?
• How does society disable people with impairments?
• How can disabled people's rights and inclusion be advanced?
• How do impairment and disability relate?

Key concepts

• Social model of disability
• Impairment vs disability
• Disablement
• Disability rights
• Inclusion
• Independent living

Key theories

The social model of disability

Oliver distinguished impairment from socially produced 'disablement', founding disability studies.

Critique and reconstruction

Shakespeare critiqued the strong social model, arguing for attention to impairment and embodiment.

History

Disability studies emerged with the social model (Oliver), shifting disability from individual deficit to social barriers, later refined by critiques attending to impairment (Shakespeare).

Debates

Social model versus the reality of impairment

Whether the social model neglects the bodily experience of impairment.

Key figures

• Michael Oliver
• Tom Shakespeare

Seminal works

• oliver-1990
• shakespeare-2006

Frequently asked questions

What is the social model of disability?

The view that people are disabled by social barriers and exclusion rather than by their impairments alone.