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Hi, And to all who say that emancipatory research is done in social sciences only, I'd like to say: but surely providing excellent role models for disabled researchers is also emancipatory? If disabled children have been encouraged by seeing such a high profile disabled academic researcher, is that not emancipatory? Stephen Hawking didn't just conduct a study - he wrote a book that changed the world and I think if you ask anyone in the street to name a disabled academic they will name Stephen Hawking (not Barnes, Shakespeare or Mercer!). I still think that the definition of emancipatory research is too narrow. Is the definition of what is emancipatory research written in stone because that is what Oliver and Barnes say it is? So maybe there is a way to stretch the definition of emancipatory, taking a risk, finding innovative things, isn't that what researchers do? From: Larry Arnold [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 17 December 2012 20:20 To: 'Nadia Ahmed'; [log in to unmask] Subject: RE: Question about emancipatory disability research. In my opinion Stephen Hawking is not doing emancipatory research. Emancipatory research involves researching people and society, so classic hard science is not emancipatory if it has no practical outcome in itself. My perception of emancipatory research, is research which has an outcome that not only does no harm to the community being researched, it has positive aims to improve the situation of that community. The community need not be impaired, they may be economically or socially disadvantaged in other ways. The other key point about emancipatory research is respect for and involvement of the participants as equals. The ethos that the research is not being produced by the researcher but the participants in collaboration with the researcher. There is one way where you could possibly stretch the definition to include Stephen Hawking, and that is the way in which the findings of the research is shared, in that he has authored books for non astronomers to understand. Larry From: The Disability-Research Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nadia Ahmed Sent: 17 December 2012 19:46 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Question about emancipatory disability research. Does emancipatory research always involve research on disability? Should disabled academics have to be limited to doing research on disability to be emancipatory? For example, Stephen Hawking does not do research on disability and does not directly affect disabled people, therefore he would not be classed as emancipatory by disability theorists. However, I think that his stature as a researcher has done more to convince non-disabled people that people with disabilities can do world class research than any other disabled researcher. So is his research emancipatory? What do you say? As we know already that the policies and practices in universities have made it very much possible and very much normal for students with disabilities to achieve higher education, but is this also the same for academics with disabilities, and their career development? Vice-President of the Ability Society part of the Students Union at Queen Mary University of London [log in to unmask] Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/203525433075086/ Blog: travellingtheworldonwheels.blogspot.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=120688481285587 ________________End of message________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about list administration should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to this web page. ________________End of message________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about list administration should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to this web page.