Exploring Disability Identity and Disability Rights through Narratives Finding a Voice of Their Own

Building on David M. Engel and Frank W. Munger’s groundbreaking work analyzing the narratives of people with physical and learning disabilities, this book is based around a series of qualitative interviews of young Canadian adults with physical disabilities. The book delves into the barriers identified by the study’s participants, allowing them to discuss, in their own words, both their anger at systemic discrimination and their hopes for better futures. Featuring chapters on: employment barriers; educational barriers; transportation barriers; and gender and disability, the book offers comparative insights addressing the legal position of disability rights in the USA, Canada and the UK.

Addressing the theoretical underpinnings and current scholarship on disability identity the book places a particular focus on the importance of political economy and the changes to the labour market in a globalized economy for understanding the marginalization and oppression of people with disabilities. Through a thorough engagement with the narratives Ravi Malhotra and Morgan Rowe propose avenues for inclusive legal reform and ask if we need to reconsider the social model of disablement that has been foundational for understanding disability issues for thirty years.