Introductory description

This is a Year 2 optional module that introduces students to the sociology of disability. The particular focus of the module is to provide explanations for numerous disability inequalities that exist across the life course. Upon completion of the module, students will have an appreciation of existing theoretical approaches to understanding disability inequalities as well as knowledge of empirical research on a wide range of relevant topics. Students will also be able to appreciate the insights that sociological thought brings to the study of disability and the influence of other ascriptive inequalities in experiences of disability and trajectories and outcomes of individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. The module is primarily research-led: we will regularly engage with existing empirical work on disability in order to better understand mechanisms and social processes behind the association of disability with social inequality.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Students will be introduced to different theoretical models and definitions of disability, and their implications for policy and research. We will pay particular attention to the development of the social model of disability alongside the development of disability movements. We will also problematize the marginal place that disability had occupied within mainstream sociology and the development of disability studies. A series of theoretical models and concepts will be covered to provide a framework to understand the (re)production of disability-related inequalities.The module will demonstrate the parallels of disability with other inequalities as well as the importance of an intersectional approach to understand life course outcomes of disabled individuals. Different domains influencing the trajectories and lives of those with disabilities will be scrutinized e.g. family, school, societal attitudes, social policy etc. We will draw on examples from different parts of the world, exploring the importance of situational context for the study of disability.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• By the end of this module students should be able to:1) Demonstrate an understanding of the different theoretical models of disability, and their implications for policy and research 2) Present an awareness of the challenges in defining what disability is, and the difficulties in producing reliable and meaningful measures of disability in research3) Critically appraise existing quantitative and qualitative sociological research focusing on issues surrounding disability4) Contextualize, synthesize, and draw links between appropriate literature on disability, inequality, and the life course 5) Demonstrate an appreciation of the insights that sociological thought brings to the study of disability 6) Illustrate an understanding of the appropriateness of different methodological approaches to research different issues surrounding disability and inequality7) Identify the role of other inequalities in experiences of disability and outcomes and trajectories of individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions 8) Develop skills in accessing and evaluating relevant literature for seminar discussion, presentations, independent study, research and essay writing.

Indicative reading list

There is no textbook for this module. Students will be provided with weekly readings at the beginning of the term (book chapters and/or journal articles).

Indicative background reading:

Connors, C and Stalker, K (2002) The Views and Experiences of Disabled Children and their Siblings: A Positive Outlook. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Connors, C and Stalker, K (2007) Children’s Experiences of Disability: Pointers to a Social Model of Childhood Disability. Disability & Society 22(1): 19–33.
Dowling, M and Dolan, L (2001) Families with Children with Disabilities - Inequalities and the Social Model. Disability & Society 16(1): 21–35.
Fine, M and Asch, A (1998) Disability Beyond Stigma: Social Interaction, Discrimination, and Activism Journal of Social Issues 44: 3-22
Goffman, E (1963) Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hodkinson, A (2007) Inclusive Education and the Cultural Representation of Disability and Disabled People: Recipe for Disaster or Catalyst of Change? Research in Education 77: 56-76.
Hollomotz, A (2012) Disability, Oppression, and Violence: Towards a Sociological Explanation Sociology 47(3): 477-493.
Holt, L (2004) Childhood Disability and Ability: (Dis)ableist Geographies of Mainstream Primary Schools. Disability Studies Quarterly 24(3):20-48.
Janus, A (2009) Disability and the Transition to Adulthood. Social Forces 88(1):99–120.
Jenkins, R (1991) Disability and Social Stratification. British Journal of Sociology 42(4): 557-580.
Powell, J (2003) Constructing Disability and Social Inequality Early in the Life Course: The Case of Special Education in Germany and the United States Disability Studies Quarterly 23(2): 57-75.
Thomas, C (1999) Female Forms: Experiencing and Understanding Disability. Buckingham: Open University Press
Oliver, M (1992) The Politics of Disablement. Basingkstoke: Macmillan.
Priestley, M (2003) Disability: A Life Course Approach. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Watson, N (2012) Theorising the Lives of Disabled Children: How can Disability Theory Help? Children and Society 26: 192-202
Altman, B. M. 2014 ‘Definitions, Concepts, and Measures of Disability’, Annals of Epidemiology 24 (1): 2–7.
Department for Children, School, and Families. 2010 Breaking the Link Between Special Educational Needs and Low Attainment: Everyone’s Business, Nottingham: Department for Children, School, and Families.
Holloway, S. 2001 ‘The Experience of Higher Education from the Perspective of Disabled Students’, Disability & Society 16 (4): 597–15.
Pescosolido, B.A. and Martin, J.K. 2015. ‘The Stigma Complex’, Annual Review of Sociology 41 (1): 87–116.
Reskin, B.F. 2005 ‘Including Mechanisms in Our Models of Ascriptive Inequality’, American Sociological Review 68: 1–21.
Scambler, G. 2009 ‘Health-Related Stigma’, Sociology of Health and Illness 31 (3): 441–55.
Scambler, G. and Hopkins, A. 1986 ‘Being Epileptic: Coming to Terms with Stigma’, Sociology of Health and Illness 8 (1): 26–43.
Tomlinson, S. 2017 A Sociology of Special and Inclusive Education, Abingdon: Routledge.

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

knowledge and critical understanding of the well-established principles of the area(s) of study, and of the way in which those principles have developed
use a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake critical analysis of information, and to propose solutions to problems arising from that analysis

Transferable skills

ability to apply underlying concepts and principles outside the context in which they were first studied, including, where appropriate, the application of those principles in an employment context
the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decision-making
the ability to undertake further training, develop existing skills and acquire new competences that will enable them to assume significant responsibility within organisations.