The contribution of disability studies to the new humanities

Abstract

Disability studies is deeply connected with the disability rights movement, and some of the pioneers of the movement were disabled academics. It is an area of study that draws from different disciplines, especially the social sciences and the humanities, while having its own unique character. The insights gained from disability studies are embedded in the direct experiences of disabled people and their family members and are based on an understanding of disability as arising from the interaction between people with impairments and socially created material and cultural barriers. This understanding enables the study of disability through the different disciplines within the humanities, such as philosophy, history and literary studies. Disability studies unveils the complex nature of disability and the multifarious factors that create it and that impinge on the lived experience of disabled people. It also testifies to the many ways in which disabled people negotiate their lives and identities as disabled people. For this reason, disability studies has much to reveal about the human condition and can contribute to current and future developments in the humanities.