Disability Praxis

A masterful intervention that is particularly pertinent for an age of austerity, pandemic, and rising living costsRobert Chapman, author ofEmpire of NormalityA brilliant and much-needed contribution to current debatesIoana Cerasella Chis, University of BirminghamA comprehensive analysis which also intelligently looks at how disability can fit into the modern worldJoshua Hepple, activist, writer and disability equality trainerThe rise of the extreme right globally, the crisis of capitalism and the withdrawal of all but the most punitive arms of the state are having a disastrous impact on disabled peoples lives.Bob Williams-Findlay offers an account of the transformative potential of disability praxis and how it relates to disabled politics and activism. He addresses different sites of struggle, showing how disabled people have advanced radical theory into the implementation of policies.Examining the growth of the global Disabled Peoples Movement during the 1960s, Williams-Findlay shows how a new social discourse emerged that shifted the focus away from seeing disability as restrictions on an individuals body, towards understanding the impact of restrictions created by capitalist relations. He shines light on the contested definitions of disability, asking us to reconsider how different socio-political contexts produce varied understandings of social oppression and how we can play a role in transforming definitions and societies.Bob Williams-Findlayis the founder of Birmingham Disability Rights Group and the former Chair of the national organisation BCODP. He has written in various publications on the topic of disability politics.