This interdisciplinary collection of essays addresses the theoretical, practical and legal dimensions of equality for persons with disabilities. The issues covered include the central problem of defining disability and impairment; the dilemma of same versus different treatment; the balance between autonomy and external influence and support; linkages to other anti-discrimination categories such as race and sex; the place of disability theory within identity politics; and issues of life, death, and our most intimate relationships.
The articles reflect a wealth of international viewpoints and interdisciplinary areas which include philosophy, economics, memoirs, cultural studies, empirical studies and legal scholarship.
The selection also includes classic texts which set out foundational ideas such as the social model of disability or the goal of integration, alongside essays that critique these conceptual mainstays.
This volume brings into sharp focus a wide range of contentious and complex issues in the field of disability studies and is of interest to researchers and students from a wide range of fields.
Contents: Introduction; Part I Definition and Models: Defining impairment and disability: issues at stake, Mike Oliver; Philosophical issues in the definition and social response to disability, David Wasserman; What I learned, Simi Linton; Critiquing the social model, Tom Shakespeare; The mountain, Eli Clare; Does disability status matter?, Mark Kelman. Part II Theories of Equality and Inclusion: Disability equality: a challenge to the existing anti-discrimination paradigm?, Sandra Fredman; Critical race theory, feminism, and disability: reflections on social justice and personal identity, Adrienne Asch; Anti-subordination above all: a disability perspective, Ruth Colker; Agency and disability, Anita Silvers; The landscape of discrimination today, Susan Stefan; Mental disability law in a comparative law context, Michael L. Perlin; Deaf matters: compulsory hearing and ability trouble, Kristen Harmon. Part III Accommodation and Access: When it is reasonable for Europeans to be confused: understanding when a disability accommodation is 'reasonable' from a comparative perspective, Lisa Waddington; Challenging disabling barriers to information and communication technology in the information society: a United Kingdom perspective, Anna Lawson; Antidiscrimination and accommodation, Christine Jolls; Utilitarianism and distribution to the disabled, Mark S. Stein; Disability studies and the future of identity politics, Tobin Siebers. Part IV Life and Death: Disability, life, death, and choice, Samuel R. Bagenstos; Somewhere a mockingbird, Deborah Kent; Reimagining retardation, transforming community, Allison C. Carey; Introduction, Tom Shakespeare; Was I ever wrong, Michael Bérubé; Name index.
Elizabeth F. Emens is Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, USA and Michael Ashley Stein is Professor of Law at William & Mary Law School and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, USA. Mike Oliver, David Wasserman, Simi Linton, Tom Shakespeare, Eli Clare, Mark Kelman, Sandra Fredman, Adrienne Asch, Ruth Colker, Anita Silvers, Susan Stefan, Michael L. Perlin, Kristen Harmon, Lisa Waddington, Anna Lawson, Christine Jolls, Mark S. Stein, Tobin Siebers, Samuel R. Bagenstos, Deborah Kent, Allison C. Carey, Tom Shakespeare, Michael Berube.
