Disability Rhetoric

Critical Perspectives on Disability

by Jay Timothy Dolmage

Disability Rhetoric is the first book to view rhetorical theory and history through the lens of disability studies. Traditionally, the body has been seen as, at best, a rhetorical distraction; at worst, those whose bodies do not conform to a narrow range of norms are disqualified from speaking. Yet, Dolmage argues that communication has always been obsessed with the meaning of the body and that bodily difference is always highly rhetorical. Following from this rewriting of rhetorical history, he outlines the development of a new theory, affirming the ideas that all communication is embodied, that the body plays a central role in all expression, and that greater attention to a range of bodies is therefore essential to a better understanding of rhetorical histories, theories, and possibilities.

Genres: Disability Studies, Disability, Academia, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Academic, History

414 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2013

Reviews

[Lance]

This book describes a role for disability rhetoric that goes beyond simply critiquing or contesting unfair or immoral representations of disability. Dolmage proposes that disability rhetoric is an epistemology in and of itself, a way of making meaning. No representation or form of knowledge is ever complete, and disability reminds us of this fact with metis, or cunning intelligence. In addition to this clear articulation of disability rhetoric, Dolmage provides several heuristics with which to analyze cultural texts that seek to represent disability, making this book also useful for any classroom that is engaging cultural norms through popular media.

[Kenzi Strate]

The beginning chapters of the book are my favorite as they define disability rhetoric and key terms. Later chapters analyze specific myths about disability such as Hephaestus, Metis, and the Kings Speech. Overall, it is a good introduction to disability rhetoric. I feel that later chapters didn't quite connect with and build off of earlier chapters as well as I would have liked.

[Jess]

A difficult text (such that it has taken me the expanse of three summer vacations to digest it), but an important one.

[lili yao]

3.5 ⭐️

[Mills College Library]

305.90801 D6656 2014