The term ‘inspiration porn’ is associated with disability advocacy in general and the late activi... more The term ‘inspiration porn’ is associated with disability advocacy in general and the late activist and comedian Stella Young in particular. It has come into widespread usage over the last few years. I propose the following definition: ‘Inspiration porn is the representation of disability as a desirable but undesired characteristic, usually by showing impairment as a visually or symbolically distinct biophysical deficit in one person, a deficit that can and must be overcome through the display of physical prowess.’ Inspiration porn superficially appears linked only to medical model/personal tragedy framings of disability, but on closer inspection resonates strongly with the disability movement’s advocacy of empowerment and affirmation.
As disability becomes an ever more salient concept in international political and legal discourse... more As disability becomes an ever more salient concept in international political and legal discourse, its social meaning must be better understood. Traditionally defined in medical terms and as an individual problem, it has for the last several decades increasingly become a socio-politically defined phenomenon. Disability pride has emerged as a social movement patterned after ethnic minority and sexual orientation movements. The one billion people who count as disabled nevertheless have illnesses and impairments that are largely understood as medical problems. Medicine continues to exert great influence on the social meaning of disability in general and the social valuation of various illnesses and impairments in particular. Whereas specific conditions may be socially valued, the overall category and label of disability connotes marginality and stigma. Under these conditions, disability policy, which ought to be a universal concern, risks being construed as a marginal and special-interest issue rather than a broadly relevant topic; this has potentially negative consequences for the majority of disabled people.
The concept of careers has an extensive history in the sociology of health and illness. Among oth... more The concept of careers has an extensive history in the sociology of health and illness. Among other things, the notion of a career has been used to describe the changing identities of patients diagnosed with mental illness, to identify distinct stages in the progression of various illnesses, and to recognize the cooperative efforts of hospitalized patients. However, the career concept may be reanalyzed as part of an analytical metaphor that makes salient both the agency of people with illnesses and the social structures in which they are enmeshed. This metaphor, ILLNESS IS WORK, can valorize and aid understanding of the identity work and actions of patients with chronic illnesses, particularly illnesses with a low degree of social recognition and medical prestige such as myalgic encephalopathy and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Presents the tradition of the study of rhetoric in Denmark, Sweden & Norway, including a few word... more Presents the tradition of the study of rhetoric in Denmark, Sweden & Norway, including a few words on Finland
Disability is an underexplored topic in discourse analysis. A stronger emphasis on disability iss... more Disability is an underexplored topic in discourse analysis. A stronger emphasis on disability issues would be in keeping with the academic principles and political priorities of critical discourse analysis. Simultaneously, a discourse analysis perspective is needed in disability studies. Although that field has produced a considerable amount of discourse-oriented research, it is structured around theoretical models that appear adversarial and incompatible. In practice, many of the incompatibilities dissolve into divisions between different areas of discourse production. A greater awareness of discourse analysis will aid disability studies, both in terms of theoretical development and in furthering its goals of social change.
After decades of activism, theorization, and model building, disability remains an undesirable ma... more After decades of activism, theorization, and model building, disability remains an undesirable marker of individual identity. Under-reporting of disability on a global scale is at least partly attributable to the stigma attached to disabled identity. Another cause, however, may be the lack of fit between the concept and discourse of disability as they evolve in a political, legislative, and organizational context, and the discourse in which everyday experiences as a disabled person are treated. The article examines discourse about myalgic encephalopathy and chronic fatigue syndrome from the Norwegian public sphere, and discusses the relationship between disability, chronic illness, and identity.
In recent years, the philosopher Julia Kristeva has entered the field of disability, both in her ... more In recent years, the philosopher Julia Kristeva has entered the field of disability, both in her academic capacity and as an adviser to the French government on policy and legislative issues. This is not only an indication of Kristeva's evolving research interests, but also a symptom of disability's increasingly prominent status as a topic of interdisciplinary inquiry. This article undertakes an examination of Kristeva's approach to disability, and of its implications. Kristeva's approach draws strongly on her philosophical and psychoanalytic background, and aims to bring the disabled and non-disabled closer together, ending the marginalization and isolation of people with disabilities. Rhetorical analysis of one of Kristeva's programmatic articles, ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and… Vulnerability’ however, shows that Kristeva's approach to disability reifies the very conceptual divides and experiential dichotomies she attempts to transcend. Disability is represented as essentially catastrophic and essentially tied to pain and isolation. This approach ultimately worsens rather than improves the grounds for social change.
‘Chronic fatigue syndrome’ (CFS) and ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis’ (ME) are diagnostic labels that ... more ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome’ (CFS) and ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis’ (ME) are diagnostic labels that are at the center of ongoing conflicts in the field of health and illness, between doctors, patients, activists, and other interest groups. ‘CFS’ and ‘ME’ have different historical trajectories and are associated with different diagnostic criteria. In many cases, however, they are used interchangeably or synonymously with the umbrella term ‘ME/CFS’. This worsens preexisting conflicts and causes new ones, partly by effecting a confusing array of interpretive possibilities for patients new to the diagnoses and the issues at hand.
Disability studies has engaged with discourse analysis in key works both from the UK and the USA.... more Disability studies has engaged with discourse analysis in key works both from the UK and the USA. While the perspectives and analyses of discourse analysis have proved well suited for exploring disability, however, its methods have not been sufficiently developed in a disability studies context.
Conversely, discourse analysts have traditionally been concerned with social issues and fields in which asymmetric power relations, marginalization, and discrimination play a central role, e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, all of which share many analytical features with disability. But although efforts have been made to integrate disability into the discourse analysis and conversation analysis canon, the link between the two fields needs to be strengthened.
This ground-breaking volume contributes to this link by thoroughly applying the analytical vocabulary of discourse analysis to issues that are central to the field of disability studies. It strengthens disability studies by supplying case studies of representations and constructions of disability and disabled people in discourse, theorizes the role played by language in the social construction of disability, and makes disability a more salient topic for discourse analysts.
En teori kan forstås som en forklaring på et fenomen, fremsatt som logisk koherente påstander. Sk... more En teori kan forstås som en forklaring på et fenomen, fremsatt som logisk koherente påstander. Skal vi betrakte og begripe, forstå og forklare noe i verden, trenger vi teorier. Alle som studerer på universitets- og høyskolenivå, må forholde seg til teorier og teoretiske forståelsesrammer.
Teori i praksis er en innføring i anvendt teoriforståelse. Forfatter Jan Grue tar for seg en del grunnleggende spørsmål, som: · Hva er teori? · Hvorfor bør vi bruke teorier? · Finnes det ikke-teoretiske forståelser av verden? · Hvordan kan vi forstå og anvende teorier i praktisk akademisk arbeid? Denne boken synliggjør teoriens rolle og viser hvorfor og hvordan teorien er relevant i praksis. Bokens første del er et grunnriss av teoriforståelse og teoretisk funderte analysebegreper, mens andre del inneholder tre konkrete analyseeksempler på teoretisk analyse innen helse- og samfunnsfag, fra tekst via mediefremstilling til sosiale fenomener.
Dette er en bok om kropp i sin alminnelighet og uvanlige kropper i særdeleshet. Den handler om hv... more Dette er en bok om kropp i sin alminnelighet og uvanlige kropper i særdeleshet. Den handler om hvordan vi tenker, skriver og forteller om kropper, og om hvordan det går et hovedskille mellom mennesker med kropper som klassifiseres som vanlige, og mennesker med kropper som klassifiseres som uvanlige. For å forstå hvordan dette skillet har oppstått kreves det både kultur- og samfunnsanalyse.
Kroppsspråk har funksjonshemning som et sentralt begrep – fordi vårt moderne begrep om funksjonshemning favner mange av de viktigste sidene ved det å ha en uvanlig kropp.
The term ‘inspiration porn’ is associated with disability advocacy in general and the late activi... more The term ‘inspiration porn’ is associated with disability advocacy in general and the late activist and comedian Stella Young in particular. It has come into widespread usage over the last few years. I propose the following definition: ‘Inspiration porn is the representation of disability as a desirable but undesired characteristic, usually by showing impairment as a visually or symbolically distinct biophysical deficit in one person, a deficit that can and must be overcome through the display of physical prowess.’ Inspiration porn superficially appears linked only to medical model/personal tragedy framings of disability, but on closer inspection resonates strongly with the disability movement’s advocacy of empowerment and affirmation.
As disability becomes an ever more salient concept in international political and legal discourse... more As disability becomes an ever more salient concept in international political and legal discourse, its social meaning must be better understood. Traditionally defined in medical terms and as an individual problem, it has for the last several decades increasingly become a socio-politically defined phenomenon. Disability pride has emerged as a social movement patterned after ethnic minority and sexual orientation movements. The one billion people who count as disabled nevertheless have illnesses and impairments that are largely understood as medical problems. Medicine continues to exert great influence on the social meaning of disability in general and the social valuation of various illnesses and impairments in particular. Whereas specific conditions may be socially valued, the overall category and label of disability connotes marginality and stigma. Under these conditions, disability policy, which ought to be a universal concern, risks being construed as a marginal and special-interest issue rather than a broadly relevant topic; this has potentially negative consequences for the majority of disabled people.
The concept of careers has an extensive history in the sociology of health and illness. Among oth... more The concept of careers has an extensive history in the sociology of health and illness. Among other things, the notion of a career has been used to describe the changing identities of patients diagnosed with mental illness, to identify distinct stages in the progression of various illnesses, and to recognize the cooperative efforts of hospitalized patients. However, the career concept may be reanalyzed as part of an analytical metaphor that makes salient both the agency of people with illnesses and the social structures in which they are enmeshed. This metaphor, ILLNESS IS WORK, can valorize and aid understanding of the identity work and actions of patients with chronic illnesses, particularly illnesses with a low degree of social recognition and medical prestige such as myalgic encephalopathy and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Presents the tradition of the study of rhetoric in Denmark, Sweden & Norway, including a few word... more Presents the tradition of the study of rhetoric in Denmark, Sweden & Norway, including a few words on Finland
Disability is an underexplored topic in discourse analysis. A stronger emphasis on disability iss... more Disability is an underexplored topic in discourse analysis. A stronger emphasis on disability issues would be in keeping with the academic principles and political priorities of critical discourse analysis. Simultaneously, a discourse analysis perspective is needed in disability studies. Although that field has produced a considerable amount of discourse-oriented research, it is structured around theoretical models that appear adversarial and incompatible. In practice, many of the incompatibilities dissolve into divisions between different areas of discourse production. A greater awareness of discourse analysis will aid disability studies, both in terms of theoretical development and in furthering its goals of social change.
After decades of activism, theorization, and model building, disability remains an undesirable ma... more After decades of activism, theorization, and model building, disability remains an undesirable marker of individual identity. Under-reporting of disability on a global scale is at least partly attributable to the stigma attached to disabled identity. Another cause, however, may be the lack of fit between the concept and discourse of disability as they evolve in a political, legislative, and organizational context, and the discourse in which everyday experiences as a disabled person are treated. The article examines discourse about myalgic encephalopathy and chronic fatigue syndrome from the Norwegian public sphere, and discusses the relationship between disability, chronic illness, and identity.
In recent years, the philosopher Julia Kristeva has entered the field of disability, both in her ... more In recent years, the philosopher Julia Kristeva has entered the field of disability, both in her academic capacity and as an adviser to the French government on policy and legislative issues. This is not only an indication of Kristeva's evolving research interests, but also a symptom of disability's increasingly prominent status as a topic of interdisciplinary inquiry. This article undertakes an examination of Kristeva's approach to disability, and of its implications. Kristeva's approach draws strongly on her philosophical and psychoanalytic background, and aims to bring the disabled and non-disabled closer together, ending the marginalization and isolation of people with disabilities. Rhetorical analysis of one of Kristeva's programmatic articles, ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and… Vulnerability’ however, shows that Kristeva's approach to disability reifies the very conceptual divides and experiential dichotomies she attempts to transcend. Disability is represented as essentially catastrophic and essentially tied to pain and isolation. This approach ultimately worsens rather than improves the grounds for social change.
‘Chronic fatigue syndrome’ (CFS) and ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis’ (ME) are diagnostic labels that ... more ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome’ (CFS) and ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis’ (ME) are diagnostic labels that are at the center of ongoing conflicts in the field of health and illness, between doctors, patients, activists, and other interest groups. ‘CFS’ and ‘ME’ have different historical trajectories and are associated with different diagnostic criteria. In many cases, however, they are used interchangeably or synonymously with the umbrella term ‘ME/CFS’. This worsens preexisting conflicts and causes new ones, partly by effecting a confusing array of interpretive possibilities for patients new to the diagnoses and the issues at hand.
Disability studies has engaged with discourse analysis in key works both from the UK and the USA.... more Disability studies has engaged with discourse analysis in key works both from the UK and the USA. While the perspectives and analyses of discourse analysis have proved well suited for exploring disability, however, its methods have not been sufficiently developed in a disability studies context.
Conversely, discourse analysts have traditionally been concerned with social issues and fields in which asymmetric power relations, marginalization, and discrimination play a central role, e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, all of which share many analytical features with disability. But although efforts have been made to integrate disability into the discourse analysis and conversation analysis canon, the link between the two fields needs to be strengthened.
This ground-breaking volume contributes to this link by thoroughly applying the analytical vocabulary of discourse analysis to issues that are central to the field of disability studies. It strengthens disability studies by supplying case studies of representations and constructions of disability and disabled people in discourse, theorizes the role played by language in the social construction of disability, and makes disability a more salient topic for discourse analysts.
En teori kan forstås som en forklaring på et fenomen, fremsatt som logisk koherente påstander. Sk... more En teori kan forstås som en forklaring på et fenomen, fremsatt som logisk koherente påstander. Skal vi betrakte og begripe, forstå og forklare noe i verden, trenger vi teorier. Alle som studerer på universitets- og høyskolenivå, må forholde seg til teorier og teoretiske forståelsesrammer.
Teori i praksis er en innføring i anvendt teoriforståelse. Forfatter Jan Grue tar for seg en del grunnleggende spørsmål, som: · Hva er teori? · Hvorfor bør vi bruke teorier? · Finnes det ikke-teoretiske forståelser av verden? · Hvordan kan vi forstå og anvende teorier i praktisk akademisk arbeid? Denne boken synliggjør teoriens rolle og viser hvorfor og hvordan teorien er relevant i praksis. Bokens første del er et grunnriss av teoriforståelse og teoretisk funderte analysebegreper, mens andre del inneholder tre konkrete analyseeksempler på teoretisk analyse innen helse- og samfunnsfag, fra tekst via mediefremstilling til sosiale fenomener.
Dette er en bok om kropp i sin alminnelighet og uvanlige kropper i særdeleshet. Den handler om hv... more Dette er en bok om kropp i sin alminnelighet og uvanlige kropper i særdeleshet. Den handler om hvordan vi tenker, skriver og forteller om kropper, og om hvordan det går et hovedskille mellom mennesker med kropper som klassifiseres som vanlige, og mennesker med kropper som klassifiseres som uvanlige. For å forstå hvordan dette skillet har oppstått kreves det både kultur- og samfunnsanalyse.
Kroppsspråk har funksjonshemning som et sentralt begrep – fordi vårt moderne begrep om funksjonshemning favner mange av de viktigste sidene ved det å ha en uvanlig kropp.
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Conversely, discourse analysts have traditionally been concerned with social issues and fields in which asymmetric power relations, marginalization, and discrimination play a central role, e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, all of which share many analytical features with disability. But although efforts have been made to integrate disability into the discourse analysis and conversation analysis canon, the link between the two fields needs to be strengthened.
This ground-breaking volume contributes to this link by thoroughly applying the analytical vocabulary of discourse analysis to issues that are central to the field of disability studies. It strengthens disability studies by supplying case studies of representations and constructions of disability and disabled people in discourse, theorizes the role played by language in the social construction of disability, and makes disability a more salient topic for discourse analysts.
Teori i praksis er en innføring i anvendt teoriforståelse. Forfatter Jan Grue tar for seg en del grunnleggende spørsmål, som:
· Hva er teori?
· Hvorfor bør vi bruke teorier?
· Finnes det ikke-teoretiske forståelser av verden?
· Hvordan kan vi forstå og anvende teorier i praktisk akademisk arbeid?
Denne boken synliggjør teoriens rolle og viser hvorfor og hvordan teorien er relevant i praksis. Bokens første del er et grunnriss av teoriforståelse og teoretisk funderte analysebegreper, mens andre del inneholder tre konkrete analyseeksempler på teoretisk analyse innen helse- og samfunnsfag, fra tekst via mediefremstilling til sosiale fenomener.
Kroppsspråk har funksjonshemning som et sentralt begrep – fordi vårt moderne begrep om funksjonshemning favner mange av de viktigste sidene ved det å ha en uvanlig kropp.
Conversely, discourse analysts have traditionally been concerned with social issues and fields in which asymmetric power relations, marginalization, and discrimination play a central role, e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, all of which share many analytical features with disability. But although efforts have been made to integrate disability into the discourse analysis and conversation analysis canon, the link between the two fields needs to be strengthened.
This ground-breaking volume contributes to this link by thoroughly applying the analytical vocabulary of discourse analysis to issues that are central to the field of disability studies. It strengthens disability studies by supplying case studies of representations and constructions of disability and disabled people in discourse, theorizes the role played by language in the social construction of disability, and makes disability a more salient topic for discourse analysts.
Teori i praksis er en innføring i anvendt teoriforståelse. Forfatter Jan Grue tar for seg en del grunnleggende spørsmål, som:
· Hva er teori?
· Hvorfor bør vi bruke teorier?
· Finnes det ikke-teoretiske forståelser av verden?
· Hvordan kan vi forstå og anvende teorier i praktisk akademisk arbeid?
Denne boken synliggjør teoriens rolle og viser hvorfor og hvordan teorien er relevant i praksis. Bokens første del er et grunnriss av teoriforståelse og teoretisk funderte analysebegreper, mens andre del inneholder tre konkrete analyseeksempler på teoretisk analyse innen helse- og samfunnsfag, fra tekst via mediefremstilling til sosiale fenomener.
Kroppsspråk har funksjonshemning som et sentralt begrep – fordi vårt moderne begrep om funksjonshemning favner mange av de viktigste sidene ved det å ha en uvanlig kropp.