Pedagogy, Disability and Communication: Applying Disability Studies in the Classroom (Interdisciplinary Disability Studies) - Tapa blanda

‘Disability is everywhere in the social world; assumptions about bodies and ways of moving through the world are fundamental to human interaction. Pedagogy, Disability and Communication provides tools for use in a variety of classrooms to help students communicate more ethically and effectively while generating insights that can enhance access and opportunity for all.’

Jim Ferris, Ability Center Endowed Chair in Disability Studies, University of Toledo

The value of this collection lies in the underlying foundation and principle of a nothing about us without us approach by the editor, Michael S. Jeffress in collating contributions that effectively highlight scholars in the field who are leading the way in challenging the status quo of disability and curriculum design in higher education. These scholars illuminate the pathway for further reform in disability studies and for transforming the higher education environment. The pedagogical strategies suggested in the book may be adapted and also useful in many other courses in the higher education environment. Pedagogy, Disability and Communication is essential reading and a valuable resource for scholars, students, and researchers who value practical examples of pedagogy supported by theoretical underpinnings which challenge notions of disability through their curriculum and ultimately co-create new understandings and meanings of disability in higher education courses.

Dr Satine Winter, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, Brisbane, Australia

Research has long substantiated the fact that living with a disability creates significant and complex challenges to identity negotiation, the practice of communication, and the development of interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, individuals without disabilities often lack the knowledge and tools to experience self-efficacy in communicating with their differently-abled peers. So how do these challenges translate to the incorporation of disability studies in a classroom context and the need to foster an inclusive environment for differently-abled students?

Bringing together a range of perspectives from communication and disability studies scholars, this collection provides a theoretical foundation along with practical solutions for the inclusion of disability studies within the everyday curriculum. It examines a variety of aspects of communication studies including interpersonal, intercultural, health, political and business communication as well as ethics, gender and public speaking, offering case study examples and pedagogical strategies as to the best way to approach the subject of disability in education.

It will be of interest to students, researchers and educators in communication and disability studies as well as scholars of sociology and social policy, gender studies, public health and pedagogy. It will also appeal to anyone who has wondered how to bring about a greater degree of inclusion and ethics within the classroom.