The Disability Studies Reader

by Lennard J. Davis (Editor)

The fifth edition of The Disability Studies Reader addresses the post-identity theoretical landscape by emphasizing questions of interdependency and independence, the human-animal relationship, and issues around the construction or materiality of gender, the body, and sexuality. Selections explore the underlying biases of medical and scientific experiments and explode the binary of the sound and the diseased mind. The collection addresses physical disabilities, but as always investigates issues around pain, mental disability, and invisible disabilities as well. Featuring a new generation of scholars who are dealing with the most current issues, the fifth edition continues the Reader ’s tradition of remaining timely, urgent, and critical.

Genres: Disability, Disability Studies, Nonfiction, Academic, Theory, Sociology, Social Justice

570 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 1997

Reviews

[Corvus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im marking this ad read for now since it has been in my reading for probably a year. I didn't realize it was a textbook size book when I got it. This isn't bad, it just made it very difficult to read cover to cover. I mostly did though. It has a wide variety of essays touching on more than disability alone. The essays on abortion and disability were probably what taught me the most and were very interesting. But, there are a lot of good ones in here. It could use a bit more disabled poc perspectives though.

[Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most helpful Disability Studies books I've read so far. I mean, this has a piece by my favourite scholar—Rosemarie Garland Thomson, in so it was already good in my eyes.

[Poppy Sockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughout my reading on disability and its embodiment in literary works, this arrangement of essays by Lennard Davis is by far the most fruitful. In only 500 words, states of the body from pregnancy, to chronic illness, to hearing and sight impairments, to sexual abuse, are covered in simultaneous acknowledgement of intersections of race, sexuality, and gender and their respective critical opinions. Each piece silently celebrates the academic depth and credits to its author, and seamlessly blends with intelligent introductions by Davis. Five stars.

[David Kirschner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal reader for Disability Studies / Sociology of Disability. I used this for myself as a companion to Davis's more undergrad-friendly primer on disability studies. I assigned some of the articles to supplement the primer, and read a lot more to enhance my understanding and to add to lectures. Using these two books this semester helped make my course the best it's been.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book that makes you think. Discussing topics about oppression, stigmatisation and discrimination. Should be on the curriculum. A must read for everybody. This book covers race, sexuality, disability feminism and much more.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Particularly enjoyed the essays on the intersection between disability studies and feminist theory.

[Annabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every ! single ! essay ! was ! insightful !

[Kristen Roedel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So helpful in getting different "slices" of various disability theory and in seeing different takes on specific topics.

[Emma Ghiz]

Fantastic.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could place one book into the hands of every School Principal, every Vice Chancellor and every employer, then it would be this one. This is the fourth edition of The Disability Studies Reader and for readers of earlier editions, this one is worth the purchase price and upgrade.

Every chapter is beautifully written. It is appropriately crafted for researchers, activists and men and women who want to make our on and offline spaces operate with greater precision, clarity, openness and justice.

This book impressed me so much because it pulled no punches. Researchers work in the complex spaces between disability studies and postcolonialism, disability studies and poststructuralism. But there is deep attention to the deaf community and Deaf Studies, and the impact of medical interventions. Mental health concerns - and Mad Pride - are discussed. Perhaps the most powerful chapter - written by Harriet McBryde Johnson and titled "Unspeakable Conversations" - takes on utilitarian philosophy that (too often) supports selective abortion and the withdrawal of life support for men and women with disabilities. Such a chapter raises deep questions about rights and who - really - is granted the status of a human with consciousness and choices.

It is a tough book. It is a passionate book. It is a book of emotion. It is a book of deep thought. It is a book of transformation. Read it.

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and exciting survey of the contemporary state of disability studies. Pieces in this book cover a wide range of issues through the lens of disability - law, sexuality, gender, race, the body, literature, history, media representations, reproduction, social movements, incarceration, art, public policy, chronic illness, psychiatry, and many more topics. Standout pieces include Elizabeth F. Emens's "Disabling Attitudes: U.S. Disability Law and the ADA Amendments Act," Ruth Hubbard's "Abortion and Disability: Who Should and Should Not Inhabit the World?," Susan Wendell's "Unhealthy Disabled: Treating Chronic Illnesses as Disabilities," and Harriet McBryde Johnson's "Unspeakable Conversations."

[Blair Hodges · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is a bit heavy on lit-crit and queer studies. A few of the selections spend a lot of time talking about the other "chapters" of the respective books from which they were taken, which could have been remedied with a bit of editing before publication or some additional footnotes. On the whole, though, it is a useful collection to get one's feet wet in the burgeoning field of disability studies.

[Mia]

A super comprehensive guide to disability. There was a decent amount of variety in terms of approach, but the collection seemed to be skewed heavily towards audio and visual impairment, so it would have been nice to have more discussion in some other areas. That being said, anyone interested in social models of disability would have a great introduction to the topic with this reader.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this book in order to write a paper on prosthetics using disability studies. This book is very helpful in understanding how this discipline works and how to apply it to literature and other disciplines. It also gives the history of how we come to view disability today. Not to mention that this reader covers all kinds of disabilities, not just people who are missing a limb.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a sociology class. The language in the articles gets wordy and "scholarly" at times, but the overall content is interesting. I enjoyed learning about the different social situations that differently-abled groups face and the cultures these groups have.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 4th Edition of this anthology is a must-read, as it contains a huge variety of articles, creative nonfiction, and poetry that past editions did not.

[melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a few of the essays in this for a paper. I didn't know much about disability studies before, but from what I read, it seems like a really interesting field to get into.

[Lisette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thought provoking book that needs to be proofread closer.

[Mills College Library]

362.4 D2629 2013