The Disability Studies Reader, 2nd Edition
Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2009/04/22 - Updated: 2025/05/29
Publication Type: Literature / Review
Category Topic: Disability Publications - Academic Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This information presents "The Disability Studies Reader, Second Edition," an authoritative anthology edited by Lennard Davis that compiles foundational essays and innovative scholarship in the field of disability studies. The collection is recognized as a seminal resource, offering both established arguments and fresh perspectives from emerging scholars, making it a key text for understanding the evolution and breadth of disability studies. Its essays address a wide range of societal domains - including medicine, economics, education, law, and culture - demonstrating the field's relevance to contemporary debates about identity, difference, and the concept of normalcy.
The volume is particularly useful for academics, professionals, people with disabilities, and seniors seeking to deepen their understanding of how disability intersects with other aspects of identity and society. Its scholarly approach and comprehensive coverage make it an invaluable reference for anyone interested in the theoretical and practical dimensions of disability - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
This is an indispensable collection, bringing together foundational arguments in disability studies and provocative new work from emerging young scholars in the field. If you're curious as to why (and how) disability studies has stimulated so much debate in the humanities, The Disability Studies Reader is a great place to start finding out.
Main Content
The Disability Studies Reader collects, for the first time, representative texts from the newly emerging field of disability studies. This volume represents a major advance in presenting the most important writings about disability with an emphasis on those writers working from a materialist and postmodernist perspective. Drawing together experts in cultural studies, literary criticism, sociology, biology, the visual arts, pedagogy and post-colonial studies, the collection provides a comprehensive approach to the issue of disability.
From the Back Cover:
"This is an indispensable collection, bringing together foundational arguments in disability studies and provocative new work from emerging young scholars in the field. If you're curious as to why (and how) disability studies has stimulated so much debate in the humanities, The Disability Studies Reader is a great place to start finding out." - Michael Berube, Paterno Family Professor in Literature, Penn State University
"There is simply no area of contemporary life - be it medical, economic, educational, juridical, athletic, architectural, culinary, recreation, entertainment - that goes un-addressed in the disability studies literature. Just when you thought that there was nothing new to say about social construction, difference, the performative, the universal, the particular and the body, disability studies comes along to demonstrate both the theoretical and practical urgencies to which these and other too often abstract terms really refer. If you've been hearing about disability studies, but didn't quite know what to make of it, this is the anthology for you." - Stanley Fish, Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Law, Florida International University
"A classic just got even better! Only a few disciplines can claim a founding text. For disability studies, with its far-reaching implications for other fields, this is it. It all starts - and re-starts in a superb second edition - right here." - David B. Morris, author of The Culture of Pain
"This revised edition demonstrates the significant evolution of the field. Greater attention to such vital issues as globalization, gender, critical race studies, and cultural constructions appear in cogent new essays that enhance and complement the collection. As with the original Disability Studies Reader , this edition challenges its readers with pioneering studies of theoretical models and the politics of disability." - Susan Burch, author of Signs of Resistance: American Deaf Cultural History, 1900 to World War II
"This collection of scholarly essays strikes at the concept of normalcy and touches us on both personal and societal levels. From an academic perspective, the field of disability studies broadens our race, class, and gender discussions to include layers of identity and moments of connection. The Disability Studies Reader challenges us to reexamine human difference." - I. King Jordan, President, Gallaudet University
Paperback: 472 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (August 15, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0415953340
ISBN-13: 978-0415953344
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: The second edition of "The Disability Studies Reader" serves as a crucial resource in the evolving discourse on disability. By bringing together seminal texts and contemporary analyses, it challenges readers to reconsider preconceived notions of normalcy and ability. Its comprehensive approach not only educates but also fosters critical thinking about the societal structures that influence perceptions of disability. This edition stands out not only for its scholarly rigor but also for its ability to challenge conventional assumptions about normalcy and difference. By broadening discussions of race, class, and gender to include disability, the collection fosters a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of human diversity, offering readers practical insights that resonate on both personal and societal levels - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.