Critical Disability Studies

Abstract

Critical Disability Studies (CDS), as a transformative theoretical space, has shown immense growth and change over the last decade. It offers a scholarly field and method for comprehending the human condition that maintains disability and ability as key reference points. CDS is also an academic space that is far removed from, and yet seeks to constructively critique, modernist approaches to disability such as social and medical models. As CDS is now producing sophisticated transdisciplinary scholarship at an exponential rate, it is opportune and timely to step back, take stock, and comprehend its current condition. As such, the purpose of this chapter lies in formulating a response, grounded in the complex and contested nature of CDS, to a set line of questioning. Namely, what is CDS and why might it matter?