Disability Justice and You

A disability justice subject guide created by an MLIS student pfp from the National Park Service, banner licensed under https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

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About this subject guide

A subject guide is a collection of annotated citations that can be used as a starting point for research on a specific topic. In this subject guide, you'll find sources to help introduce you to the language used by disability studies – the academic study of the position of disabled people in society – and some introductory sources on disability justice, as well as resources for already disabled people. I hope this guide will serve both the disabled and nondisabled community and facilitate more engagement with disability justice!

So, what is disability justice?

Disability justice and disability inclusion are facets of the disability rights movement that gained momentum in the 1990’s and 2000’s and sought equal rights for disabled people in the US and internationally. Disability inclusion argues that simply fighting for access rights for disabled people is not enough; instead, disabled people need to be actively and intentionally included in daily life by going above and beyond the minimum required level of accessibility. Disability justice goes further by demanding the broader disability rights movement fight for justice for all disabled people, highlighting the imperative to learn and incorporate the liberatory practices of other historically marginalized peoples.

Table of Contents

Reference Books:

"Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally"

"Handbook of Disability: Critical Thought and Social Change in a Globalizing World"

"Introducing Disability Studies"

"Routledge Handbook of Disability Studies"

Books:

"Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice"

"Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century"

Databases:

Disability in the Modern World

Disability Studies Quarterly

Web Resources:

Disability & Philanthropy Forum

Project LETS

UC Berkeley Disability Lab

World Institute on Disability

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Web Resource

UC Berkeley Disability Lab—Making Better Crips w/ Mad Lab at Cal. (n.d.). Mad Lab at Cal. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://disabilitylab.berkeley.edu/

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This is the website for the “RadMad Lab at Cal,” an accessible makerspace, teaching space, and lab working on the creation of accessibility aids. The website features a “disability 101” section and a “what is disability studies?” section, both of which have multiple subpages which include a glossary of disability studies terms, in depth information on the various models of disability and other phrases that are commonly used in disability studies, and a thorough introduction to the term ‘disability justice’. The “disability 101” section is written by Abby Fenton, a disability activist who identifies as disabled with non apparent disabilities, and she notes that she welcomes input from others. The information is well-organized in easy to follow tabs, and sources are linked directly in the text. All of the presented information can be easily corroborated and the sources appear credible as well. This resource is intended to serve as an introduction to disability for the nondisabled as well as a resource of support and empowerment for people who are already disabled. Additionally, the website features information on current accessibility projects being worked on at the lab, which is a really interesting window into what advancements that can and are being made for disabled people right now!

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Web Resource

Resources Archive. (n.d.). Disability & Philanthropy Forum. Retrieved November 6, 2024, from https://disabilityphilanthropy.org/resources/

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This is the Resource Library of the Disability and Philanthropy Forum, a group “mobilizing philanthropy toward disability inclusion, rights, and justice” (“Disability & Philanthropy Forum”). The content is reliable and up to date, and the only bias seems to be a pro-disability one. The main financier of the site, Proteus Fund, is interested in funding philanthropy and social justice initiatives, according to their website. The DPF resource archive contains work from a wide variety of disability activists, writers, and thinkers, though I can find it confusing to navigate at times. I suggest starting here with their “What does ‘Disability Justice’ Mean?” page and exploring from there! This resource is a great place to start learning about disability justice after gaining some background level understanding of disability studies, but you could also just jump right in here and explore through their library to learn more!

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Web Resource

Resources. (n.d.). Project LETS. Retrieved November 6, 2024, from https://projectlets.org/resources

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This is Project LETS’ Resources for (Un)Learning. They have a whole page on disability justice that includes sources for all definitions, introductory readings and videos, and some more in-depth collections of resources organized by topic. The author’s and information are all world class, and they include both some newer and some older sources, allowing for a more historically grounded perspective. The site itself is on a mission to help create alternatives to the mental health system we live with today, and many of their other resources are centered around unlearning ableist and harmful beliefs about yourself and others. This web resource is very approachable for someone who is just getting started learning about disability studies and other topics therein, but it’s also excellent for disabled people who are interested in a more in depth learning experience about disability justice.

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Web Resource

Resources. (n.d.). World Institute on Disability. https://wid.org/resources/

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This is the Resource Library of the World Institute on Disability. The WID’s mission is to advance rights and opportunities for disabled people on a global scale, and it is important to note that they are also a consulting agency, though access to their Resource Library and blog is completely free and you will never be asked to give them money to access them. The WID also claims to be disability led, and their Library includes a host of free resources for the disabled community that go beyond basic education, including resources on accessible design, information on various disability benefits, and resources on climate resilience. In addition to the Resource Library, I would recommend checking out their blog posts, especially if you’re just getting acquainted with the world of disability studies and disability rights! This resource includes a lot of great information, but it can be challenging to find the right thing. There is an option to search the site, but with no way to filter or refine results, it can be challenging to search for more commonly used terms like 'disability justice'. This article on “Moving from Disability Rights to Disability Justice” is a great place to start, and I would also recommend checking out their blog posts on “How to Be a Good Ally to Disabled People” and “Why Black Disabled History Matters.” Every blog post includes the name of the person who authored it (and they all seem to be credible disabled activists and writers), and sources are included where necessary. While the most recent blog post was posted in 2023, the information included in their posts is still relevant and up-to-date, and their Resource Library is updated much more regularly. 

I hope the articles I’ve included here help you get started with this site! The Resource Library is a great place to turn to for disabled people who need education on available resources like housing benefits, accessibility accommodations, strategies for disaster, etc. and the blog is great for nondisabled people who want to learn how to be more inclusive of disabled people in their community, and disabled people who want to learn more about disability justice and activism.

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Database

Disability Studies Quarterly. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/index

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This is the database for the journal of the Society for Disability Studies, titled Disability Studies Quarterly, which is described in their about section as “a multidisciplinary and international journal of interest to social scientists, scholars in the humanities and arts, disability rights advocates, and others concerned with the issues of people with disabilities” (“Disability Studies Quarterly”). The content covers a wide range of disability-focused topics, including peer-reviewed studies, scholarly articles, literature reviews, and creative works. This database can be used to get an understanding of current work in the field of disability studies as well as a sense of the history and development of the field

There is a basic search function and advanced filters for publishing date and author are available. No other limits can be used and there is no faceted searching. There is archive coverage going back as far as 2000 and new issues are published quarterly. Additionally, archival volumes as far back as 1980 can be found on a separate site, the link to which is provided on the DSQ website. The content is all full-text in HTML and sources include peer-reviewed scholarly articles as well as creative works like poems that center disability. Material cannot be sorted in any way, there is no way to temporarily save articles to a folder, and though users can make an account, they are primarily for participating in peer-reviewing, making submissions, and receiving notification of new publications, rather than for helping the user organize sources. While this is a little more annoying than other databases, the uniquely narrow focus of this journal makes it perfect for anyone who is interested in disability justice or the field of disability studies.

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Database

Disability in the Modern World, collection hosted by Alexander Street, part of Clarivate

This is a special collection database focusing exclusively on disability. There is a basic and an advanced search which allows you to get incredibly specific with your search. There is also faceted searching at the side and the ability to sort material at the top, allowing you to further refine your search, and resources can be emailed, printed, downloaded and added to a folder on the site for you, in addition to automatically cited for you or allowing you to export the resource to a citation site. Their archival collection goes back as far as 1919 and their content includes historic periodicals, brochures/advertisements/pamphlets, memoirs/diaries, patents, press releases, graphs, poetry, documentaries, performances, and more! There is full-text coverage for a lot of their sources and many of the more recent articles are peer-reviewed. While it is possible to make an account, it is mostly just for people who already have institutional access, though users can ask their librarians to request a free 30- day trial. This database is wonderful for digging into the history of disability over time and examining how the disability rights movement has evolved. This is also a really great resource for old images of how disabled people lived their day-to-day to lives up to a century ago.

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Book

Piepzna-Samarasinha, L. L. (2018). Care work: Dreaming disability justice. Arsenal Pulp Press.

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This book is called “Care Work: Dreaming disability justice,” and it is a collection of essays on disability justice from award winning disability activist, writer, and performer, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. Published in 2018, their essays cover a wide range of topics, but all center Leah’s exploration and lived reality with disability justice. There is a table of contents that groups their essays into more closely related themes, there are some references in their acknowledgements, and there are further readings and resources at the end of the book. While this book can get very heavy, with discussions of suicide, chronic pain, and the tolls of emotional labour, it is a profoundly moving collection of essays that exemplifies the importance of disability justice in the bid to form better communities for all. Unlike the reference books shared here, this will be a much ‘easier’ read in the sense that it isn’t an academic text, per se, but I would suggest taking just as much care while reading it. I also think having at least a surface level understanding of the basics of disability studies and the disability justice movement would make this book more enriching to read.

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Book

Wong, A. (2020). Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

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This is “Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century,” published in 2020, and edited by Alice Wong, a disabled activist, writer, editor, and the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project. A table of contents organizes the various essays into four main parts, and information about the contributors as well as further reading can be found at the end. This book is a collection of essays from all across the array of disabled people, providing a glimpse into the lived reality of all sorts of disabilities. This book is a beautiful way for nondisabled people to learn more about the lived reality of disability, but it is also a heartwarming and provocative display of disability justice for people who already are disabled. If you’re unsure of what a disability justice politic may look like, or are curious about the state of the world for your fellow disabled humans, I would highly recommend this book. I think a baseline foundational level of knowledge on disability studies may help, but this book can be enjoyed by anyone.

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Reference Book

Berger, R. J., & Wilbers, L. E. (2021). Introducing disability studies (Second edition). Lynne Rienner publishers.

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This is “Introducing Disability Studies” by Ronald J. Berger, a professor emeritus of sociology, and Loren E. Wilbers, an assistant professor of sociology as well as coordinator of the Family, Health, and Disability Studies Program at UWW. This second edition was published in 2021, while the first edition came out in 2013. This handbook covers a few topics that some other ones on this list don’t, namely ethical issues related to genetic selection and physician-assisted suicide, though they also cover disability in pop culture, the historical context of disability as far back as ancient times, and some analysis of disability over the course of a life. There is a table of contents at the front, and an index and all of the references listed at the back of the book. This handbook is directly targeting new learners who are interested in the field of disability studies, but don’t necessarily know where to start. I think this would be a great starting place for someone who has only very recently learned of disability as a political identity, but also an interesting read for someone who is a little more well-versed in the discipline.

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Reference Book

Watson, N., & Vehmas, S. (Eds.). (2019). Routledge Handbook of Disability Studies (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429430817

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This is the “Routledge Handbook of Disability Studies,” edited by Nick Watson, a professor of Disability Research, and Simo Vehmas, a professor of Special Education. The first edition was published in 2012, and the second in 2019. This handbook is divided into five parts: the various approaches and ‘models’ of disability, how specific disabled groups engage with disability studies, policy and legislation in response to disability studies and disability activism, the interaction of disability studies with other academic disciplines, and an intersectional analysis of disability and disability studies. A table of contents helps facilitate easy navigation, and there’s an index at the back, in addition to references at the end of each chapter. The intended audience for this book is academics and students in disability studies, but I think it’s manageable for anyone just curious about the discipline. This book would be helpful for you if any of the five categories specifically caught your eye, or if you’re interested in doing a bit more a deep dive into the discipline of disability studies itself.

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Reference Book

Ladau, E. (2021). Demystifying disability: What to know, what to say, and how to be an ally (First edition). Ten Speed Press.

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This handbook is titled “Demystifying disability: What to know, what to say, and how to be an ally,” and it is exactly that. Written by disabled activist, writer, and speaker Emily Ladau, in conjunction with other disabled activists, the book is an introduction to disability as a lived and political identity rather than the scary and oft-avoided topic many people imagine it to be. It contains an introduction establishing the importance of normalizing disability, a definition and brief history of disability, an analysis and explanation of ableism and disability portrayal in media, and some tips on disability etiquette.This book provides a background on disability history along with tips to identify and avoid ableism along with other good ways to be an ally to the disabled community (as a non-disabled person or otherwise). It was published in 2021 and is well-organized and easy to navigate, with a clear table of contents at the front and an index as well as further recommended reading material and resources at the end. It is a handbook with specific chapters to walk the reader through the experience of unlearning ableism, and while references can’t be found at the end of every chapter, they can be located on the author’s website. This book is intended to help anyone who wants to be a better ally to the disabled community or to learn more about the unique social position and oppression faced by disabled people today. This is the perfect primer for someone just beginning to learn about the world of disability justice, also offering an easy entry point to the field of disability studies for someone who has not taken an academic course in it. Between the easy to read language and the recommended resources and activities at the end of the book, I think anyone could enjoy using this book to get acquainted with the topic of disability as well as to actually practice good allyship towards disabled people.

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Reference Book

Rioux, M. H., Buettgen, A., Zubrow, E., & Viera, J. (Eds.). (2024). Handbook of Disability: Critical Thought and Social Change in a Globalizing World (1st ed. 2024). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6056-7

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This is the Handbook of Disability, edited by Marcia H. Rioux, Alexis Buettgen, Ezra Zubrow, and José Viera. The editors are a collection of various rigorous and highly-experienced professors in Health, Economics, and Anthropology, and a disabled advocate with almost 20 years of experience in human rights advocacy. This handbook was first published in 2021 and republished as the current first edition in 2024. I can’t describe it better than the editors did: “This important reference work maps the terrain of disability across the world by providing an overview of issues, concerns and developments in the domains of society, culture, medicine, law, policy, justice, education, economics, and science and technology. It is a truly inclusive volume bringing together perspectives from researchers, activists, professionals, service providers, international development experts and policymakers based in the global North and South, and it particularly focuses on the voices of the principal stakeholders---disabled persons themselves” (Rioux et al., 2024). This reference work first surveys past historical events related to disability, then examines current disability conventions, before highlighting as-of-yet addressed areas that the editors predict will shift the discourse in the future. The writing may seem dense, but this is a really great collection of research, trend detection, and intersectional analysis of just about everything disability related. While it may seem intimidating at 80 chapters, it is well organized with an easy to follow table of contents, and an index at the back. References are included so you can also use this handbook as a treasure trove of new sources. Even just reading the chapters that seem interesting to you will help provide a better understanding of the past, current, and future direction of disability justice. This book is perfect for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the current state of disability studies and serves as a good primer in disability justice.