Neurodiversity Studies

Routledge Advances in Sociology

by Hanna Bertilsdotter Rosqvist (Editor), Nick Chown (Editor), Anna Stenning (Editor)

Building on work in feminist studies, queer studies and critical race theory, this volume challenges the universality of propositions about human nature, by questioning the boundaries between predominant neurotypes and ‘others’, including dyslexics, autistics and ADHDers. This is the first work of its kind to bring cutting-edge research across disciplines to the concept of neurodiversity. It offers in-depth explorations of the themes of cure/prevention/eugenics; neurodivergent wellbeing; cross-neurotype communication; neurodiversity at work; and challenging brain-bound cognition. It analyses the role of neuro-normativity in theorising agency, and a proposal for a new alliance between the Hearing Voices Movement and neurodiversity. In doing so, we contribute to a cultural imperative to redefine what it means to be human. To this end, we propose a new field of enquiry that finds ways to support the inclusion of neurodivergent perspectives in knowledge production, and which questions the theoretical and mythological assumptions that produce the idea of the neurotypical. Working at the crossroads between sociology, critical psychology, medical humanities, critical disability studies, and critical autism studies, and sharing theoretical ground with critical race studies and critical queer studies, the proposed new field – neurodiversity studies – will be of interest to people working in all these areas. Chapter 7 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction, Adhd

256 pages, Hardcover

Published July 23, 2020

Reviews

[riddhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

though initially sceptical of the book due to the way mainstream academia has treated neurodiversity for the most part, i was very surprised to find some of my favorite scholar's works in this edition. the introduction provides a comprehensive understanding of what the field of study means, and the essays foray into history, society, communication, and how do we move forward from here. it then ties into broader semantic notions of neurodivergence really well. however, i have my fair share of issues with the book. the most prominent one being a pattern i've observed across neurodiversity studies as a discipline - treating autism as synonymous with neurodivergence. in a way, the book has perpetuated that understanding, with most works being about autism. i would've appreciated a bit more variety in the text. it has a very western centric perspective, and essays by marginalized, indigenous, and culturally diverse communities would've been a great addition to give a comprehensive character to the book. lastly, i believe it failed to live up to it's claim of having works on 'neuroqueering'.
i would use this for my academic work for sure, but a bit more diversity in viewpoints is extremely necessary.

[☾⋆｡ A °✩.⟡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Neurodiversity studies" and the whole thing was almost exclusively about autism? Hmmm
Such a waste of paper. Many of the chapters appear to say basically the same thing, and very little of note or originality can be found anywhere. Spends much of its time doing the basic groundwork of tackling stuff like 'arguments against the medical model', criticising cure narratives or disputing mindblindness accounts of autism...and okay? maybe it's an introduction to neurodiversity studies then? but no? becasue it's written like it's for an academic audience? so why are we just saying obvious shit?

[Josh Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

neurodiversity studies is chic ✨