More Ways To Understand Disability

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?