Disability Ethos as Invention in the United States’ Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries

Emily D Stones,Craig A Meyer

doi:10.3390/h9010011

Abstract

This article posits that disability activists routinely present a disability “ethos of invention” as central to the reformation of an ableist society. Dominant societal approaches to disability injustice, such as rehabilitation, accessibility, and inclusion, may touch upon the concept of invention; but, with ethotic discourse, we emphasize disability as generative and adept at producing new ways of knowing and being in the world. We identify an “ethos of invention” as driving early resistance to socially constructed “normalcy”, leading the push for cross-disability alliances to incorporate intersectional experiences and propelling the discursive move from inclusion to social justice. Through our partial re-telling of disability rights history, we articulate invention as central to it and supporting its aims to affirm disability culture, reform society through disabled perspectives and values, and promote people with disabilities’ full participation in society.

Highlights

The pervasive disability rights mantra, “nothing about us, without us” accentuates the right of people with disabilities to be included in decisions about disability and the societies in which people with disabilities live (Charlton 1998)
We argue that a dialectical ethos of invention drives the movements—and the rhetorical construction of these movements—leading to a seminal disability legislation and social awareness of disability’s contributions to society
This essay situates a disability ethos of invention as informing past conversations about rehabilitation, accessibility, and inclusion, we recognize that these conversations are ongoing and that invention remains an important element in the contemporary disability rights movement

Summary

Introduction

The pervasive disability rights mantra, “nothing about us, without us” accentuates the right of people with disabilities to be included in decisions about disability and the societies in which people with disabilities live (Charlton 1998). An ethos of invention validates the experiences of people with disabilities and empowers them in the process of self-definition and self-determination. It responds to an oppressive history of ascribing meaning to the physiological conditions of “disability” and society’s corresponding tendencies to diagnose and control the lives of people who fall into socially constructed categories. An ethos of invention creates spaces wherein people with disabilities can express individuality, promote understanding, and transform culture. This essay situates a disability ethos of invention as informing past conversations about rehabilitation, accessibility, and inclusion, we recognize that these conversations are ongoing and that invention remains an important element in the contemporary disability rights movement. We hope to demonstrate how an ethos of invention expands the definitions to account for fluctuating disability experiences and a commitment to re-evaluating sociopolitical practices in light of evolving disability knowledge and experience

Rehabilitation

Accessibility

Inclusion

Conclusions