Disability Studies Quarterly
Fall 2000, Volume 20, No. 4
<www.dsq-sds.org>
Copyright 2000 by the Society
for Disability Studies


An Annotated Bibliography of Recent Works in Disability Studies, 1995-2000

Compiled by David Pfeiffer
Center on Disability Studies
University of Hawaii at Manoa


It is impossible to do justice to the immense amount of publications over the last five years in the field of disability studies. The books and articles cited here are only a sample and a beginning. After reviewing them, further investigation must occur.

 

Amundson, Ron. (2000) Against Normal Function. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 31(1): 33-53. An excellent analysis of the concepts of normal and abnormal as found in the biological sciences (and which form the foundation of the medical model of disability) showing that they are social judgments of what are acceptable biological variations which justify the disadvantages of people with disabilities.

Antonak, Richard F.; Livneh, Hanoch. (2000) Measurement of Attitudes Towards Persons with Disabilities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 22(5 March): 211-24. A review of measurement instruments of attitudes toward people with disabilities. They discuss ten direct measures (people know that their attitudes are being measured) and fourteen indirect measures (people do not know). A problem with a direct measure is that knowing your attitudes are being measured can distort the attitudes. They conclude that "innovative experimental methods and psychometrically sound instruments that are reliable, valid, and multidimensional" (p. 211) are needed for research on important questions on inclusion of people with disabilities. However, the authors discuss methodology without directly naming the instruments used in the studies cited.

Baynton, Douglas C. (1997) Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign Against Sign Language. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. At what is now Gallaudet University sign language was the first method of instruction. Between 1860 and 1920 the "manualists" (emphasizing sign language) and the "oralists" (emphasizing speech and lip reading) fought over which method to use. The manualists viewed sign language as God's way to compensate for the deafness while the oralists thought of it as primitive and savage and deaf people as immigrants who needed to be assimilated to the hearing world. Even though the oralists had won out by 1920, gradually sign language returned and in the 1970s became the method of instruction and it remains so today.

Beinecke, Richard; Pfeifer, Robert; Pfeiffer, David; Soussou, Nada. (1997) The Evaluation of Fee for Service and Managed Care from the Viewpoint of People with Disabilities in the USA. Disability and Rehabilitation, 19(12 December): 513-22. After reviewing the literature, the authors present their findings using a mail survey of a sample of 258 persons with disabilities in Massachusetts. They found no statistically significant differences between the two groups (users of fee for service and users of managed care) on a series of variables. They found that the accessibility of the primary care physician's office and the physician's level of understanding of the person's disability were related in a statistically significant way to their rating of their health insurance. They also found that the ease of obtaining an appointment and the physician's level of understanding of the person's disability were related in a statistically significant way to the evaluation of their primary care physician. The implications are that managed care may not be a disaster for people with disabilities.

Beresford, Peter. (2000) What Have Madness and Psychiatric System Survivors Got to Do with Disability and Disability Studies? Disability & Society, 15(1 January): 167-72. The author ably presents why the field of disability studies (especially the UK social model) must deal with the question of the role of psychiatric system survivors and their relationship to disability studies.

Burgdorf, Robert L. Jr. (1997) "Substantially Limited" Protection from Disability Discrimination: The Special Treatment Model and Misconstructions of the Definition of Disability. Villanova Law Review, 42(2): 409-585. A 1976 analysis of the definitions of disability and discrimination in Section 504 showing how the phrases "otherwise qualified" and "solely on the basis of a disability" produced problems. The "otherwise qualified" part of the definition means that a person with a disability who can do the job without a reasonable accommodation, but when the regulations were written they specifically said that the "otherwise" would be disregarded. The "solely on the basis of a disability" means that if the person with a disability suffers discrimination because of a disability and any other reason, then Section 504 does not apply. These definitions led to problems in the courts. The ADA definition tries but does not escape these problems. Basically it is because the courts treat people with disabilities as being in a special class, but both statues were written so that people with disabilities would be treated in an equal way (sometimes with adjustments which non-disabled people routinely receive).

Caudill, Edward. (1997) Darwinian Myths: The Legends and Misuses of a Theory. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. A discussion of how Darwin's theories have been misused and misunderstood in politics and popular culture with a focus on the media.

Cervero, Robert. (1997) Paratransit in America: Redefining Mass Transportation. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. A good study of paratransit which is vital for many persons with disabilities.

Corker, Mairian. (1997) Deaf and Disabled, or Deafness Disabled? Towards a Human Rights Perspective. Bristol, PA: Open University Press. Analyzes the deaf-disabled nexus. The author wants Deaf people to keep their unique identification, but to be able to dialogue with people with disabilities.

Couser, G. Thomas. (1998) Recovering Bodies: Illness, Disability, and Life Writing. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. A study of personal narratives regarding disability including Hockenberry and others.

Handley, Peter. (2000) Trouble in Paradise - A Disabled Person's Right to the Satisfaction of a Self-Defined Need: Some Conceptual and Practical Problems. Disability & Society, 15(2 March): 313-25. The author argues that a rights based approach to the problems of people with disabilities in the United Kingdom will not work. The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 has the "experts" ascribing what the needs of the person with a disability are. Social model theorists say that it must be self-defined needs (the person with a disability is the best expert) which are sought. The author says that the social model theorists fail to understand that no one is autonomous and everyone has some of their needs defined by others.

Hogan, Anthony. (1997) Implant Outcomes: Towards a Mixed Methodology for Evaluating the Efficacy of Adult Cochlear Implant Programmes. Disability and Rehabilitation, 19(6): 235-43. In the past the efficacy of cochlear implants were measured on the basis of enhancement of speech perception. This study goes further by measuring interpersonal communication skills, social confidence, and a reduction in social anxiety. But broader gains were not made because adequate employment and education programs did not exist.

Humphrey, Jill C. (2000) Researching Disability Politics, Or, Some Problems with the Social Model in Practice. Disability & Society, 15(1 January): 63-85. The UK social model can be interpreted in a way which excludes some disabilities and the persons with them feel separated out. In addition it suffers from a distrust of academics and especially a non-disabled researcher.

Imrie, Rob. (1997) Rethinking the Relationships Between Disability, Rehabilitation, and Society. Disability and Rehabilitation, 19(7): 263-71. This article is based on chapter two of his book Disability and the City: International Perspectives (London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd., 1996). It examines and analyzes the medical model of disability and shows how inadequate it is. It advances the social construction theory of disability as a fruitful way to rethink disability, rehabilitation, and society's concerns.

Imrie, Rob. (2000) Disabling Environments and the Geography of Access Policies and Practices. Disability & Society, 15(1 January): 5-24. The author points out that the lives of people with disabilities are effected by where they live. He points to considerable published evidence that education policies and practices, housing resources, and accessible transportation vary from location to location. Therefore, he writes, geographic and/or spatial terms are important to researching and understanding the experience of disability.

Kenworthy, John; Whittaker, Joe. (2000) Anything to Declare? The Struggle for Inclusive Education and Children's Rights. Disability & Society, 15(2 March): 219-31. This article gives clear examples of how the fight for inclusive education in the United Kingdom needs the ideas of due process and equal protection.

Kitchen, Rob. (2000) The Researched Opinions on Research: Disabled People and Disability Research. Disability & Society, 15(1 January): 25-47. In his sample of 35 persons with a range of disabilities, the author found that they (like many academics with disabilities) wanted inclusive and action based research strategies which saw people with disabilities not just as subjects, but importantly as consultants and partners.

Llewellyn, A.; Hogan, K. (2000) The Use and Abuse of Models of Disability. Disability & Society, 15(1 January): 157-65. Focusing exclusively on the field of developmental psychology of children with physical disabilities the authors discuss the medical model, the social model, systems theory, and the transactional model. They make some good general points: models are neither true nor false, but rather are aids in clinical activities and in research.

Marks, Deborah. (1997) Models of Disability. Disability and Rehabilitation, 19(3 March): 85-91. A critical review of models of disability. Although she makes some claims which may not stand up, generally she is attempting to educate people about the non-medical model of disability and does a good job of it even though she does mention the ICIDH in a favorable light.

Marks, Deborah. (1999) Disability: Controversial Debates and Psychosocial Perspectives. London: Routledge. A good survey of the growing field of disability studies providing a summary and critique of the major approaches to disability (medical model, UK social model, impairment, and others) with an emphasis (in places) on the contribution of psychoanalysis. In her closing comments she says that the differing approaches can be used for communication and research.

McFarland-Icke, Bronwyn Rebekah. (1999) Nurses in Nazi Germany: Moral Choice in History. Princeton: Princeton University Press. The author discusses how people who were trained to comfort and to save lives could take part in the Nazi extermination of people who had mental and physical disabilities. Midelfort, H.C. Erik. (1999) A History of Madness in Sixteenth-Century Germany. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Examines the popular attitudes and the legal, medical, and religious perspectives on "madness" in Germany during the Renaissance.

Mitchell, David T.; Snyder, Sharon L. (editors) (1997) The Body and Physical Difference: Discourses of Disability. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Disability as found in culture and the arts including the marginality of people with disabilities and their sense of identity.

Moore, Michele; Beazley, Sarah; Maelzer, June. (1997) Researching Disability Issues. Bristol, PA: Open University Press. Illustrates how to research disability issues using the social model and different methodologies.

Mudrick, Nancy R. (1997) Employment Discrimination Laws for Disability: Utilization and Outcome. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 549(January): 53-70. The author contends that people with disabilities overestimated the impact of the ADA in employment and employers did the same for costs. Using state data she shows that the impact and the cost has been less than expected.

Munford, R.; Sullivan, M. (1997) Social theories of disability: the insurrection of subjugated knowledges. Human Services: Towards Partnership and Support, edited by P. O'Brien and R. Murray. Palmerston North: The Dunmore Press, 17-33. A account of the problems faced by people while going through the process described as rehabilitation.

Numbers, Ronald L. (1998) Darwinism Comes to America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Responses in the US to Darwin.

Pfeiffer, David. (1998) The ICIDH and the Need for Its Revision. Disability & Society, 13(4 September): 503-23. The conceptual basis for the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH) used by the World Health Organization the medical model which produces the medicalization of disability. It is then only a short step to Eugenics the evaluation of people with disabilities using the concept of "normal" with the result that people with disabilities are seen as a burden individually and to society. In addition its language and logic are faulty, filled with biased, handicapist language. It is a threat to people with disabilities world wide.

Pfeiffer, David. (1998) Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act. Handbook of Human Resource Management in Government, edited by Steve Condrey. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pages 199-213 (chapter 10). A practical description of the ADA and its requirements with resources and examples.

Pfeiffer, David. (1999) The Categorization and Control of People with Disabilities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 21(3 March): 106-107. A statement that disability is a policy question and not a medical issue and that by continuing to categorize people with disabilities rehabilitation and medical professionals are attempting to control people with disabilities. It is a commentary on the one printed just before it which heavily uses the ICIDH as the approved basis for various questionnaires and it is followed by a reply to the comments.

Pfeiffer, David. (1999) The Problem of Disability Definition, Again. Disability and Rehabilitation, 21(8 August): 392-95. A policy commentary tracing the changing definitions of disability and their differing impact.

Pfeiffer, David; Finn, Joan. (1997) The Americans with Disabilities Act: An Examination of Compliance by State, Territorial, and Local Governments in the USA. Disability & Society, 12(5 November): 753-73. In Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) public entities in the US are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of a disability. Based on a mail survey the authors conclude that there is satisfactory implementation of the ADA on the state, territorial, and local levels in the US although much remains to be done.

Rauscher, Laura; McClintock, Mary. (1997) Ableism Curriculum Design. Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, edited by Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne Bell, and Pat Griffin. New York: Routledge. Their chapter contains ample information on ableism, curriculum design, historical timelines, language analysis, exercises, and a background on the disability rights movement.

Robillard, Albert R. (1999) Meaning of a Disability: The Lived Experience of Paralysis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. A discussion of disability based on the author's personal experience covering daily interaction, feelings, discrimination, and meaningful interaction.

Scotch, Richard. (2000) Models of Disability and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, 21(1): 213-22. Scotch describes the socio-political construct of disability [the oppressed minority paradigm of disability] and how it is the foundation for the ADA. He then describes the conservative critique of the ADA as an economic and moral approach. He concludes that legislation and the ADA alone will not change society regarding the mistreatment of persons with disabilities.

Scotch, Richard K.; Schriner, Kay. (1997) Disability as Human Variation: Implications for Policy. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 549(January): 148-59. The authors state that the minority group model has been the basis for disability policy for the last 25 years and therefore combating discrimination has been the major thrust. However, they suggest that a human variation model would be better. In this model society would have to take larger variations into consideration in dealing with persons with disabilities. It is now a good time to start incorporating such a model into policy discussions.

Scullion, Philip. (2000) Disability as an Equal Opportunity Issue Within Nurse Education in the UK. Nurse Education Today, 20: 199-206. The author presents the case that disability must be treated in nursing education as race and similar things are considered. It is a question of discrimination in the same way.

Selden, Steven. (1999) Inheriting Shame: The Story of Eugenics and Racism in America. New York: Teachers College Press. How social theory, scientists, media, and textbooks put forth the "truth" of eugenics in US society.

Shakespeare, Tom. (editor) (1998) The Disability Reader: Social Science Perspectives, London: Cassell. Includes essays by: Paul Hunt, Simon Brisenden, Vic Finkelstein, Len Barton, Paul Abberley, Colin Barnes, Helen Meekosha, Nick Watson, Ayesha Vernon, Rob Imrie, Gareth Williams, Anne Chappell, Mairian Corker, Paul Darke, Alan Roulstone, Sheila Riddell, Penny Germon and others; covering issues such as: social theory, employment, education, film culture, identity, the body, feminist theory, post-structuralism, multiple oppression, and the built environment.

Stiker, Henri-Jacques. (2000) A History of Disability, translated by William Sayers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. A history of the responses to persons with disability in Western society.

Thomson, Mathew. (1998) The Problem of Mental Deficiency: Eugenics and Social Policy in Britain, c. 1870-1959, New York: Oxford University Press. How the policy of institutionalism arose from Eugenics.

Tucker, Bonnie Poitras. (1997) The ADA and Deaf Culture: Contrasting Precepts, Conflicting Results. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 549(January): 24-36. A discussion of the conflicting positions that Deaf people are not disabled, but rather a linguistic minority, and that they are covered by the ADA and are entitled to accommodations.

Wingate, Marcel E. (1997) Stuttering: A Short History of a Curious Disorder. Westport: Bergin & Garvey. A critical analysis of current and historical writings on stuttering.

Yellin, Edward H. (1997) The Employment of People with and without Disabilities in an Age of Insecurity. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 549(January): 117-28. In the US economy there has been a growing job insecurity. Its impact on people with disabilities produced an increased rate of employment for women with disabilities, a decreased rate of employment for men with disabilities, and a disproportionate rate of part-time work for both. They are the way in which changes in demand for labor has been met.

Yoshida, Karen; Willi, Vie; Parker, Ian; Self, Hazel; Carpenter, Sandra; Pfeiffer, David. (1998) Disability Partnerships in Research and Teaching in Canada and the United States. Physiotherapy Canada, 50(3 Summer): 198-205. A discussion of how participatory action research can improve and enrich research and training in disability studies.