The social construction of disabilities
Proposed to be offered next in 1996
D B Miller
8 points * 2 hours per week * First semester * Clayton * Prerequisites: ANY/COS/SCY second year or permission of department head
The subject examines the discursive construction of `the disabled' in our society. After a brief survey of the perception and treatment of `disabilities' crossculturally and throughout Western history, the subject concentrates on the link between on the one hand the ideological construction of the `normal' and the `pathological' in current Western conceptions of humanity, and on the other the demands of capitalist production for an `able-bodied' workforce. Two case studies will be examined in detail: the social construction and treatment of the `mentally retarded' and the `deaf'. Attention will then be given to current programs for the integration of the `disabled' into mainstream education in Victoria.
Assessment
Essay (2000 words): 40% * Essay (4000 words): 60%
Recommended texts
Crossley R and McDonald A Annie's coming out Penguin, 1980
Foucault M Madness and civilization Vintage, 1973
Foucault M The birth of the clinic Vintage, 1975
Gould SJ The mismeasure of man Penguin, 1984
Lewis M Managing madness: Psychiatry and society in Australia 1788-1980 AGPS, 1988
Ryan J and Thomas F The politics of mental retardation Free Association Books, 1989
Sacks O Seeing voices: A journey into the world of the deaf Picador, 1989
Showalter E The female malady: Women, madness and English culture, 1830-1980 Virago, 1987