ALTER
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DISABILITY RESEARCH
REVUE EUROPEENNE DE RECHERCHE SUR LE HANDICAP
European Disability Policies
Paradigms, legislations, intervention procedures, practices
Call for papers - Special issue - 2009
Timetable:
- The proposed papers (title and summary of 500 words) must be sent before January 15, 2008. An initial selection will then be made.
- The full papers must be sent prior to April 15, 2008 and then will be anonymously peer-reviewed by 2 experts.
- The final version of the papers accepted for publication shall be given no later than September 30, 2008.
- These papers will be published in the first issue of 2009.
Issue coordinated by Michel Chauvière (CNRS) and Myriam Winance (INSERM).
The papers shall comply with the "instructions to Authors" of the Alter Journal, available on the Journal Website: http://www.masson.fr
Proposed papers and papers shall be sent to the following address: [log in to unmask], clearly stating that they are in response to the "call for papers" for the special issue of "European Disability Policies".
In Western countries, disability policies have been gradually developed over the last century. They share a long past and have common roots. Current policies are the ultimate stage of the long tradition of assistance and charity to the "deserving poor". From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, assistance took various forms: charities, charitable community organizations, confinement in homes for mentally disabled persons... The difficult issue was the definition of the "deserving poor", i.e. to define those who, among the poor, might legitimately benefit from assistance because of their incapacity to work and inability to meet their needs by themselves. It was undeniable that someone cannot work at all when the impairment is obvious, thus justifying that she or he lives on assistance. Disability policies are also the result of a more recent history, that of practices of rehabilitation and re-education, that of the welfare state and emerging social rights... Slowly, the notion of social compensation emerged and took the form of indemnities or of social rehabilitation ... Recognition is given to impairments by administrative and political authorities; as a result, the people concerned (according to criteria that relate to the origin, nature and impact of impairment) are eligible for specific rights. However, the status of "disabled person" is still controversial.
In Western countries, disability policies were introduced during the second half of the 20th century. They were category-based policies which we would nowadays describe as being based on positive discrimination. They defined the category (or class) of the persons concerned (often in contrast with other categories), the specific rights to which that particular category entitled them, and the specific actions taken to help them. These took the form of intervention procedures, care modalities and practices, all of which differed from one country to another. For instance, France relied a great deal on institutionalisation and on the organisation of a specialised district policy, both of which are still predominant - Something that is less true in other countries.
During the 1970s, several aspects of these policies were called into question. Major changes took place, first in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries, then worldwide. Groups of disabled persons took action, organising protest movements and standing up for their rights for full participation in society. To a large extent, this is what led to a new theoretical model of disability, the now widespread and well-known social model. This model emphasised society's responsibility in the generation of disability, basing itself on various values and standards of action. From this core aspect (emphasis on the social causes of disability), a wide spectrum of orientations - either theoretical or political (universalism, minority rights, non-discrimination, interactive Quebec model...) - was to develop. Environmental issues were becoming increasingly important. At the same time, international organisations (United Nations, European community, WHO) were taking up the question of disability and asserting the rights of disabled persons; then, in the 1980s and 1990s, the principles of non discrimination, participation, equal chances, citizenship, mainstreaming and accessibility, were progressively emphasised.
During that period, one can observe a diversification and increase in the number of actors, at the same time as a splintering in disability definition models and an evolution in care practices. This impacted on disability policies. In many countries, there were substantial changes in the conceptions and implementation of disability policies, albeit within different time frames. These reforms were linked to debates between actors: debates about the participation of disabled persons in society, in particular through work; debates about the meaning of certain injunctions such as participation, work, citizenship; debates about people's responsibility regarding their condition and evolution; debates about the notion of "equal chances", mainstreaming, etc.
ALTER, European Journal of Disability Research, is calling for papers for a special issue focusing on European Disability Policies. Its aim is to collect a set of papers for a better understanding of the various routes taken by these policies in the European community.
Several axes can be analysed:
4. Socio-historical analysis of current disability policies in one or more European Countries
Who were the actors involved in their development? Which models have they used? What are the tensions and alliances that can be detected in these policies? What were the debates? What decision-making system has worked? Have the category-based policies been replaced by other types of policies?
5. Analysis of intervention procedures and practices implementing these policies.
In concrete terms, how are the new systems of references (non-discrimination, participation, citizenship...) behind the legislation, given concrete form and implemented at different organizational levels? In practice, how do the actors use these principles? What are the existing groups and what changes can be seen in the strategies and in the stands taken by actors and groups of actors? What about the evolution of the so-called specialized sector? What are the emerging practices?
6. Analysis of cognitive stakes.
What knowledge is involved in all these practices, whether political, administrative, medical, field-based, or developed by disabled persons? Which scientific organizations and reorganizations are addressing these issues? More specifically, what is the status of the differences affecting persons with a disability? How are the implemented modes of normalization and institutionalization justified?
The papers may focus on a single country, but they can also propose comparative analyses or focus on international authorities.
Best wishes
Prof Mark Priestley
Faculty Pro-Dean for Research
(Education, Social Sciences and Law)
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