Walking the talk: towards a more inclusive field of disability studies

Abstract

This paper is a conversation about growing an inclusive field of disability studies. The paper draws on data collected through an analysis of existing disability studies programmes in selected Canadian universities. The paper makes a case for including diverse perspectives, experiences, viewpoints, and voices in these programmes. In this work, I call for an interrogation of the normativity in the field of disability studies and for critical reflections and discussions about growing a diverse and inclusive field that pays attention to marginalised populations. There is a need to rethink the exclusionary nature of knowledge, space, bodies, and pedagogy in the field, which perpetuates Eurocentric culture, thoughts, and practices.

Keywords:

• inclusiveness
• Indigenous
• global South
• global North
• disability studies

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of this paper for their feedback.

Notes on contributor

Bathseba Opini is a Lecturer in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include teacher education, disability, inclusive schooling and pedagogy.

Notes

1. The social model of disability focuses on ‘examining the social processes and forces that cause people with perceived impairment to become constructed as disabled and/or a minority group in society’ (Priestley 2003, 4).