Introduction
Disability is a complex issue that impacts the person profoundly, not only from the perspective of physical restraints but social, political, and economic aspects. Throughout the history of disability studies, a clear divide was made between the social and medical definitions of disability (Watson & Vehmas, 2019). Recently the interdisciplinary aspect came to the forefront of research as people with disabilities suffer from various interconnected factors (Goodley et al., 2019). Disability studies can be defined as a transdisciplinary field that views disability as a physical affliction and a cultural identity and investigates the experience from an epistemic viewpoint (Dirth & Adams, 2019). The topic of disability studies was selected as it considers disability from a holistic perspective. It presents an interesting issue as it provides crucial information on the relationship between disabled persons, their caregivers, families, friends, and society and sheds light on their experiences.
Primary Theories, Ideas, and Theorists
The main idea behind disability studies is intersectionality inspired by feminist theories. Christian Bell was the first theorist to bring an interdisciplinary approach to disability by applying Critical Race Theory, claiming that the previous research was mainly focused on White men (Dirth & Adams, 2019). The proposed theories conclude that disability is as much of a social construct as it is a physical impairment (Schalk & Kim, 2020). As the notion of disability is created and acknowledged by society, it is defined by the public and can influence people with disabilities in multiple ways, including the worsening of their condition (Slater & Liddiard, 2018). Many theorists consider the interplay of different social constructs and their impact on disabled individuals. Judith K. Witherow considers the relationship between health, race, and class, while Rosemarie Garland-Thomson suggests integrating race and feminism into the understanding of the disability experience (Schalk & Kim, 2020). Thus, the central idea of disability studies concerns the inclusion of different concepts that impact disability as a social construct.
Conclusion
Based on my findings mentioned above, I would like to explore the social influences on medical disability and the role of health care in my literature review. Social attitudes are what form the health care structure, as politics controls it. This health care, in turn, makes people with disabilities sick, worsening their condition. My preliminary stance on my future thesis is that social structures like health care negatively correlate with the physical well-being of people with disabilities.
References
Dirth, T. P., & Adams, G. A. (2019). Decolonial theory and disability studies: On the modernity/coloniality of ability. Journal of Social and Political Psychology. Web.
Goodley, D., Lawthom, R., Liddiard, K., & Runswick-Cole, K. (2019). Provocations for critical disability studies. Disability & Society, 34(6), 972–997. Web.
Schalk, S., & Kim, J. B. (2020). Integrating race, transforming feminist disability studies. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 46(1), 31–55. Web.
Slater, J., & Liddiard, K. (2018). Why disability studies scholars must challenge transmisogyny and transphobia. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 7(2), 83–93. Web.
Watson, N., & Vehmas, S. (Eds.). (2019). Routledge handbook of disability studies. Routledge. Web.