Disability, Society, and the Individual

by Julie Smart

Utah State Univ., Logan. Textbook looks at the disability experience from the perspective of the individual and discusses how disabilities are viewed by society. Considers the relationship between these two viewpoints. Includes discussion questions, learning activities, suggested readings and first-person accounts. Softcover.

Genres: Disability Studies, Disability, Textbooks

357 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

Reviews

[David Kirschner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good textbook, probably not ideal for a sociology class, but options are limited. I really enjoyed the first 1/2 of it, but the second 1/2 starts to feel both incredibly repetitive and outside the scope of a sociology course. I've organized my course by taking key concepts and milestones out of the first 1/2 of the book (prejudice, discrimination, handicapism, ADA, medicalization, etc.) and making the first 1/2 of the course very theoretical, and then applying concepts in the second half to discuss disability and various social institutions and pressing issues in the disability rights movement. If you're in sociology, the second 1/2 of the book steers toward the individual and is much more related to psychology and therapy.

A major strength of the book is its focus on disability rights and its use of first-person narratives to illustrate points. There are TONS of accounts of PWDs discussing just about anything you can think of. On the downside, many of the sources are old (probably average 20-25 years ago). This isn't a terrible problem, as these social issues plaguing PWDs persist, but there is a lot of newer material that the author should incorporate. The book is not heavy on research, which is both a blessing and a curse. Like I said, it's heavy on first-person accounts instead, which is great, but I was expecting a more academic read, to be more informed by research than narratives. Students will likely enjoy it though, and that's a plus!

[James Richmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This textbook offer a chance to gain more of an appreciation of what the past has taught us, and in terms of disability rights, gives us a canvas to work on for the future of our society. I would recommended this book for those looking for an interesting introduction into disability studies!

[Bettyjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite it being a textbook, I found it very interesting and not hard to read.

[Chelsea Rivas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent textbook covering many important (but often overlooked) aspects of disability.