Introduction

Abstract

This article introduces contributions to the Special Issue of Disability Studies Quarterly on Disability, Work and Representation. Despite the common equation of disability with inability to do paid labor, disabled people have always worked. Historical experiences of the workplace have varied and have been influenced by means of production, employer and co-worker attitudes and by welfare systems that have impacted negatively on disabled people's abilities to take on employment. Studying the relationship between disabiltiy and work from a range of disciplinary perspectives not only sheds new light not just on disabled people's experiences in the workplace in different societies and at different historical moments, but also raises questions about the meaning of work and the values that underpin it.