Hi
I appreciate and respect your perspective Larry. You are absolutely right that there is a politics of power and representation, and that this is a major challenge for academics in all social/critical disciplines. It's also important that we challenge the many barriers to participation in higher education and academic life for neurodiverse people, who have often been excluded.
My point is that, as I understand it, this particular book is not about the lives of people labelled with autism. If it were entitled 'representing people with autism' and claimed to speak for people labelled in that way then I see your point. But, as far as I can tell, it's about fictional representations of autism in various films and novels etc, and thereby exposes and analses the often oppressive stereotypes and devices that they employ. The author also identifies as a parent of three sons with various diversity labels, including autism. I haven't read it yet but it looks interesting.
I'm struggling a bit with your position. Are you arguing an absolute standpoint epistemology that nothing can be written on any social phenomenon (contemporary or historical) except by a person who experiences that phenomenon and in that specific context? i.e. that there can be no writing by anyone on history or cross-cultural analysis for example? There's a risk of reductio ad absurdum here, but you see my point. So we need a more sophisticated development of the argument. For example, is your argument related to all social phenomena, or only to relationships of oppression, or only to disability issues, or only to neurodiversity and autism?
It's an interesting debate (and an old one) but, short of book burning, I can't see a better solution than engaging critically with the work.
Why not read the book and write a review for one of the journals? That would be interesting and would also enable you to publish some of your ideas in an academic context, which is something you've often said you'd like to do. Sounds like a good opportunity.
Best wishes
Mark
________________________________
From: The Disability-Research Discussion List on behalf of Larry Arnold
Sent: Mon 23/06/2008 11:39
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: new book - Representing Autism
I have principles that come first, it is not about whether the book is good or even accurate but
about whether it should be written by who it has written by because of the wider social implications
of our disempowerment the suppression of our voices the continuation of the notion that we need
others to explain our situation.
That I call cultural oppression and the creation of our disability and that such a book is not a
help it is almost an act of war.
Larry
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mark
> Priestley
> Sent: 23 June 2008 10:53
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: new book - Representing Autism
>
> Larry...with all due respect, how about reading the book
> before making the judgement? Or at least doing enough
> research to find out what the authors' personal experience is.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Mark
>
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