The Social Model of Disability in India: Politics of Identity and Power

This book presents various paradigms and debates on the diverse issues concerning disability in India from a sociological perspective. It studies disability in the context of its relationship with concepts such as culture/religion, media, literature, and gender to address the inherent failures in challenging prevalent stereotypical and oppressive ideologies. It traces the theological history of disability and studies the present-day universalized social notions of disablement. The volume challenges the predominant perception of disability being only a medical or biological concern and provides deeper insight into the impact of representation through an analysis of the discourse and criteria for ’normalcy’ in films from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It analyzes the formation of perspectives through a study of representation of disability in print media, especially children’s literature, comics, and graphic novels. The author also discusses the policies and provisions available in India for students with disabilities, especially women who have to also contend with gender inequality and gender-based discrimination.

The book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of disability studies, educational psychology, special education, sociology, gender studies, politics of education, and media ecology. It will also be useful for educationalists, NGOs, special educators, disability specialists, media and communication professionals, and counsellors.

Ranjita Dawn is Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Loreto College, University of Calcutta, India. She received her Doctorate in Social Psychology of Education from the Zakir Hussian Centre for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. She is one of the leading scholars working in the area of disability studies in India. She has been associated with organizations like Blind Relief Association and National Association for Blind, New Delhi. She has authored numerous research papers for both international and national journals, and four books including Psycho-Social Dynamics of Blind Students (2011), Visual Impairment (2015), Perception and Portrayal of Women with Disabilities: Remapping their Identity (edited book, 2017) and Educational Achievement and Psychosocial Transition in Visually Impaired Adolescents (2017). She has been the recipient of various prestigious awards such as Indian Council for Social Science Research Doctoral Fellowship, National Scholarship Award, Dr. Neelu Sanghvi Sancheti Memorial Medal for Graduation and felicitated by The Calcutta Corporation Co-operative Credit Society. She also has previous experience working as Research Fellow at NCERT, New Delhi.