Critical Disability Studies and the Disabled Child: Unsettling Distinctions

This book explores the relationship between cultural representations of disabled children and disability as a personal experience of internalized oppression, raising questions about the meaning of "speaking for the other" and resistance. It theorizes the making of disabled and "rehabilitated subjectivities" through an exploration of critical theories and cultural objects, and investigates how cultural anxieties about disability are embodied and lived by disabled children. It poses new questions for disability studies and identity politics and demonstrates a new approach to internalized oppression.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 188 pages
Publication date: 13 June 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the intricate relationship between contemporary cultural representations of disabled children and the personal experience of disability as internalized oppression. By focusing on the politically and emotionally charged figure of the disabled child, Harriet Cooper raises thought-provoking questions about the meaning of "speaking for the other" and the nature of resistance when one is unknowingly invested in their own abjection. Through a rich blend of personal anecdotes, critical theories, and cultural objects such as Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel "The Secret Garden" and Judith Butler's work on injurious speech, the book theorizes the formation of disabled and "rehabilitated subjectivities." Drawing from psychoanalysis and critical disability studies, it explores how cultural anxieties about disability manifest in the lived experiences of disabled children. By challenging prevailing notions of "internalized oppression," this book offers fresh perspectives on disability studies, medical humanities, sociology, and psychosocial studies, as well as identity politics more broadly. It is a valuable resource for scholars and students seeking to understand the complex interplay between lived experiences, cultural representations, and dominant discourses.

Weight: 350g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032336688