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We'll get started this week with a brief background on the development of disability as a human rights issue. You will learn how past attitudes and social exclusions of person with disabilities have shaped the global movement for the international recognition of equal rights and equal access and treatment of persons with disabilities. The materials also provide an overview of global instruments dealing with persons with disabilities adopted within the framework of the United Nations, in particular the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).

Before we dive in, I want to bring to your attention two events related to these issues. One of the best things about the online learning format is that it enables me to introduce you to my wonderful professional network! I know that you are busy working professionals, but hope you will be able to take advantage of some of the optional events I've arranged for you to participate in. Here are two that will happen next week:

1. Sociology of Disability Research Talk: Social Inclusion Among People with Mobility Limitations: Theorizing Disability Regimes in the Global South

Date: Tuesday, May 25, 11-11:45 a.m.

Presenter: Shane Burns, Doctoral Candidate, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Registration Link: https://stonybrook.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkd-yhrjMiE9Gyk1q2X6ULsgnQuxIS-sIQ

2. UK Human Development Institute Employment Seminar: Returning to Work Post COVID

Date: Wednesday, May 26, 12:30 to 1 p.m.

Presenters: Kimberly Wickert, MRC, CRC and Judiann Romeo, BSN, CCM

Registration Link: https://uky.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4tM1ixCbQTmRv1KAQC3wGg

A brief introduction

For starters, what do we mean when we talk about equality - and inequality? Common standards of equality used in sociology include:
a. Equality of opportunity
b. Equality of condition
c. Equality of outcome

From these standards, we can understand different dimensions of inequality. For example, some of us start off in life more privileged than others. Some of us work harder for less. We don't all have the same opportunities. And, we're not all judged by the same standards. What this means is that inequality shapes the level of prestige and privilege we are able to enjoy in our everyday lives, to paraphrase DuBois.

We can also appreciate the social disadvantages associated with having a disability. Consider this quote:

“Over 600 million people, or approximately 10 per cent of the world’s population, have a disability of one form or another. Over two thirds of them live in developing countries. Only 2 per cent of disabled children in the developing world receive any education or rehabilitation. The link between disability and poverty and social exclusion is direct and strong throughout the world.

A dramatic shift in perspective has taken place over the past two decades from an approach motivated by charity towards the disabled to one based on rights. In essence, the human rights perspective on disability means viewing people with disabilities as subjects and not as objects. It entails moving away from viewing people with disabilities as problems towards viewing them as holders of rights. Importantly, it means locating problems outside the disabled person and addressing the manner in which various economic and social processes accommodate the difference of disability - or not, as the case may be. The debate about the rights of the disabled is therefore connected to a larger debate about the place of difference in society.” – statement from the United Nations

Unfortunately, health, illness, and disability are often left out of discussions about privilege. I'd like for you to think more about markers of inequality associated with disability related to (a) opportunity; (b) condition; and (c) outcome. If you're feeling spunky, you might also consider how these markers vary by disability type - consider differences in opportunity, condition, and outcome associated with intellectual versus physical disabilities as an example.

Now, let's dive in...

1. In order to understand past and current challenges to the rights of persons with disabilities, let's start by reading two chapters from the classic text titled No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement, by Joseph Shapiro.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

2. Next, I would like for you to read this overview of the social model of disability by Tom Shakespeare:

Shakespeare.pdf

3. Let's take a bit of a break from reading. The documentary Crip Camp is perhaps the best documentary I've found about disability as a human rights issue. Steeped in the humor and music of the late 1960’s era, Crip Camp explores the universal experience of summer camp awakenings that would transform lives and shape the future of the disability rights movement. Crip Camp can be screened for free HERE. It's a great supplement to the readings above in centering disability as a dimension of exclusion.

4. To reflect a little more on the importance of the change to a rights-based approach to disability, a study conducted by Quinn and Degener helps to analyze core values and the related problem of putting them into practice:

Human rights and disability: The current use and future potentials of United Nations human rights instruments in the context of disability (UN, 2002).

In particular, please read:

pp. 13-52 for an overview of the relevance of the shift to a human rights approach;
pp. 293-297 for a first understanding of the need for a Convention (which will be discussed next week).

5. Ready to engage in a discussion on what you've learned this week? Click here to get started. I hope you have a lot to say this week, too, because I'd additionally like for you to introduce yourself to the classmates that you'll have weekly discussions with here.

6. We'll have a weekly optional class check-in on Wednesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. If you'd like to hop on and ask questions, talk about the material, see my cute dogs, etc., here's the information you'll need to join:

*Join from PC, Mac, Linux, or mobile device:

https://uky.zoom.us/j/91562234234?pwd=ZGFoM0xDUi9mRlFBeEtFSUY2anVGQT09
*Password: 233669