An EcoJustice Analysis of Dis/ability: Reimagining Diversity and Inclusion
Abstract
Individuals who are labeled with dis/abilities are oppressed, marginalized, and devalued in Western industrial society. This domination is grounded in specific, historically-rooted perceptions and assumptions embedded in our language and value systems––especially individualism and anthropocentrism. These are modern discourses that work to rationalize the denial of power and privilege to some through the illusion of the human as separate and superior to all other life. This work uses an EcoJustice Education approach to identify and challenge the ways in which constructions of dis/ability are informed by individualism and anthropocentrism. Textual discourse analysis is used in tracing how these discourses have framed constructions of dis/ability from the 1500s to the present.