Another way to understand the very different perspectives people have on disability is to think in terms of the three main academic divisions used by most colleges and universities:
Sciences
Social Sciences
Humanities
Just like in universities, these are three equally valid and important perspectives. Which one you choose depends partly on your personality ... what interests and excites you, and what doesn't.
Also, just as in universities, we really should all have a least a basic familiarity with with all three approaches.
How do disability issues fit with this model? Like this, I think:
Sciences:
Medical research
Treatment and prevention
Rehabilitation
Adaptive technology
Social Sciences:
Disability policy
Disability throughout history
Disability as culture and identity
Ableism … disability prejudice and discrimination
Humanities:
Art, music, and writing reflecting the disability experience
The language of disability used by the disability community and broader society
Philosophy, religion, ethics, and disability
How society sees disability … how disabled people define disability identity
Which of these poles of disability thought do you tend to gravitate towards?
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