[log in to unmask] wrote:
> ... DS as a discipline has
> "underengaged" people with intellectual disabilities.
> this isn't meant as an attack on disability studies(as I
> consider it my own field) but merely as constructive
> criticism meant to spark discussion.
There are a number of reasons:
1. The University and the Asylum for the Mentally Deficient arose
together. The priveliges (such as they remain) of the academy and those
who they certify as having the finest intellects have always been rendered
sweeter by the comparison with the fate of those who have lesser
intellects. The treatment of the intellectual disabled is still directly
related to massive societal anxiety around "intelligence". In the
social sciences this anxiety manifests in those theorists who scramble
each to be more obscure and difficult than the next. It's asking a lot of
"certified intellectuals" to give much ground to the intellectually
disabled. The fact that many do manage, given the fears instilled in all
of us, is something to admire.
2. It's natural that people write about what they know best. It's up to
those of us who are affected by intellectual/ marginal/ hidden
disabilities to put our own ideas into the public arena.
I have just completed an honours thesis that begins to deal with these
issues from the inside. It's called "Odd People In: The Birth of Community
on the Autistic Spectrum". It's a polemical and personal exploration based
on my family experiences, of a new social movement based on what I call
"neurological difference" - or differences in "kinds of minds". I cover a
lot of ground in it, including a bit of autobio, a bit of social model
theory (and some critique of the Creationism I seem to find in it), a look
at some of the dilemmas of hidden cognitive disability, at autistic
self-advocacy, via participant observation of an internet autistic
community, some ruminations on autism as a kind of cultural trope in the
cyber age, and a bit of (hopefully) academic sounding bumph as padding...
I'd be happy to send a copy to anyone who is interested. Its about 15,000
words, and available in either Word for Windows, HTML (so you can jump to
the many www references quickly) or plain text. If you'd like a copy
please reply off-list to:
Judy SInger
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