Disability: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues)

This volume offers a rare mix of interpretive chapters and primary sources that will be of value to anyone interested in learning about important disability-related issues from the perspective of disabled people themselves.

In the 21st century, disability rights have become a social justice issue that concerns all American citizens―access to safe, affordable, and effective health care, access to safe and affordable housing, access to reliable and efficient public transportation, and the ability to work and participate freely in the community and in society without fear of violence. Unlike encyclopedias or biographical dictionaries that only offer brief accounts of key topics, people, events, and organizations, Disability: A Reference Handbook provides important interpretive and analytical frameworks and meaningful primary evidence.

The book opens with a chapter dedicated to the history of disability in the United States, placing 21st-century issues and concerns within their contexts. The next chapter explores important controversies and questions related directly to disability. The third chapter brings diverse voices to the topic, and the fourth chapter offers valuable profiles of key people and organizations. The remaining chapters provide valuable reference tools that will help readers to explore topics in more depth and to engage in independent research.

• Collects key primary documents and important analyses, provided by one of the leading scholars in the field of disability studies

• Weaves together decades of disability studies and disability history research in a well-rounded manner

• Reflects the author's expertise and gives readers access to important voices in perspectives chapters

• Arms readers with knowledge about what issues concern people with disabilities in the 21st century