Discourse analysis and disability: Some topics and issues

Abstract

Disability is an underexplored topic in discourse analysis. A stronger emphasis on disability issues would be in keeping with the academic principles and political priorities of critical discourse analysis. Simultaneously, a discourse analysis perspective is needed in disability studies. Although that field has produced a considerable amount of discourse-oriented research, it is structured around theoretical models that appear adversarial and incompatible. In practice, many of the incompatibilities dissolve into divisions between different areas of discourse production. A greater awareness of discourse analysis will aid disability studies, both in terms of theoretical development and in furthering its goals of social change.

Representations of disability and normality in rehabilitation technology promotional materials

“…The study also addressed Grue's [48] call for discourse analysis research in disability studies to contribute to and advance theoretical concepts and social justice agendas. Our intention was to combine both discourse analysis techniques and a disability studies theoretical lens to begin a conversation about the potential effects of disability discourses of normalization, in hopes of contributing to both theoretical development and socially responsible rehabilitation practice.…”

‘It's actually very normal that I'm different’. How physically disabled youth discursively construct and position their body/self

“…Many critical disability scholars interrogate dominant ableist discourses that assume able-bodiedness as a taken for granted norm (e.g. Zola, 1993;Wendell, 1996;Garland-Thomson, 2002Corrigan et al, 2010;Grue, 2011). Often, this research is theoretical in nature.…”

“…While poststructuralism acknowledges the material component of individual bodies, it contends that the biophysical is inextricably linked to sociopolitical dynamics. Critical attention to discourses that produce marginalized bodies is therefore warranted (Grue, 2011). Feminist poststructural scholars thus frame the body as a site of conflicting social, political and economic forces (Weedon, 1997;Wright, 2004).…”

Representing Inclusion of People With Disabilities: Analysing Discourses in a Mixed-Methods Study

“…The aim of analysing discourses in the third phrase of the mixed-methods study (sub-study III) was to identify the everyday discourses and representations of the inclusion and participation of (and for) people with disabilities through their own language use in interviews and through the texts of their service plans written by social workers. According to Grue (2009, p. 306;2011a), there is a general need for research on disability-related discourses and, moreover, a recognised need for research on the types of discourses used in the disability field.…”

“…Solvang (2000) argued that the changing social position of people with disabilities can be effectively measured through the changing importance of various discourses. Solvang's (2000; see also Grue, 2011b;2011a) main conclusion is that disability theories can be developed through analysing discourses. The central hypothesis of discourse analysis is that language shapes and is shaped by social structures, interactions and roles (Grue, 2011b, p. 17).…”