Abstract
This is a conceptual article which seeks to consider the use of contemporary social theory to help understand the experience of disabled students in higher education. The use of social theoretical insights has been criticised by many as demonstrating a lack of engagement with the everyday experiences of disabled people. Work which strives to embed theoretical insights into the study of disability has also been criticised for lacking engagement with the ‘reality’ of impairment. In this article I intend to address some of these criticisms by suggesting some ways in which the use of contemporary social theory may provide an explanatory tool which disentangles confusion regarding the journey undertaken by the disabled student. I will discuss how the writings of several social theorists may be helpful in making sense of disabled student journeys. I will begin by discussing why the work of Jacques Derrida can be useful in this regard. These writings will be considered alongside a debate which draws on the writings of Michel Foucault on the use of power in contemporary higher education institutions. I will critically discuss the theoretical insights of Deleuze and Guattari and their offerings on the notion of ‘becoming’. I will then critically interrogate the work of Rosi Braidotti and apply these to a re-imagining of the disabled student journey. The writings of these important theorists have been used before to explore the experiences of disabled people. However, this article is unique in that it proposes that these writings can be used to demystify the experiences of disabled students in higher education. I suggest some ways the work of Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari and Braidotti enable a greater understanding of my personal student journey. I suggest that they could be used to make sense of a far wider range of student journeys. I conclude the article by offering a model which utilises some important aspects of these theoretical insights.
Highlights
The study of disability and impairment provides the opportunity to apply theoretical insights to lived experiences
It has been stated that the journey through higher education—whether it be concerning disabled or non-disabled people—is under theorised and relies on taken for granted ‘truths’ rather than sophisticated theoretical ideas to aid understanding of student journeys (Strom, 2018; Taylor & Harris-Evans, 2018; Wang, 2015)
I seek to contribute to the debate surrounding the use of social theory to explain the experience of disabled people by suggesting some ways in which the experience of disabled students may benefit from a robust analysis from contemporary social theory
Summary
The study of disability and impairment provides the opportunity to apply theoretical insights to lived experiences. There are authors who cite the complexities that are generated by the use of theory in aiding understanding of the experiences of disabled people (Vehmas & Watson, 2014; Watson, 2012). It would be beneficial to generate discussion regarding the usefulness of social theory in the analysis of the journey of the disabled student. I seek to contribute to the debate surrounding the use of social theory to explain the experience of disabled people by suggesting some ways in which the experience of disabled students may benefit from a robust analysis from contemporary social theory. In what follows I use the theoretical writings of Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari and Rosi Braidotti to question discourses of disability that present opposition to the application of theory to aid understanding the experiences of disabled people (Watson, 2012). I begin by detailing my journey through higher education before returning to my personal experiences once again at the end of the article to demonstrate what viewing experiences of higher education through the lens of these theorists can offer
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