Marginalization of Disability as Alterity in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire

This paper examines George R.R. Martin’s series of epic fantasy sagas, A Song of Ice and Fire (hereinafter indicated as Ice and Fire). The books are A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons, The Winds of Winter, and A Dream of Spring. The paper aims to investigate the depictions of ethical, cultural, and social issues of disabled characters by redefining their cognitive capabilities and physiques in different cultural contexts that represent various literary conventions. Henceforth, the paper explores the disabled characters’ quest for identity and the ways in which Martin has thoroughly modified and recreated their image. The stereotype is that people with either physical or cognitive inferiority are emasculated or impotent, that having a disability is a sign of heavenly retribution, and that people with disabilities are outrageous or monstrous. These cultural fantasies all shaped the marginalisation of their identity. Therefore, the attention in this paper is paid explicitly to investigate how Martin’s characters are portrayed, exposed, suffered, and excluded by their ‘abled’ society. In addition, the emphasis is on how these characters have survived and reacted to the typical image set by the dominant society despite their diverse impairments. However, considering the popularity of Martin’s sagas and the fact that characters’ choices for their disabilities can scarcely be episodic, this paper endeavours to reverse the negative attitudes of society and build positive attitudes towards these individuals.

Disability in literature is more than just aplot device it is a powerful lens through which identity, humanity, and societal norms are explored. This paper examine show characters with disabilities are portrayed in literature and how these portrayals shape our understanding of identity. It also explores the complex relationship between disability and identity in literature, with a specific focus on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog int he Night-Time. The study is based on the social model of disability, which highlights how social barriers contribute to both physical and mental impairments. It shows characters as more than their disabilities, literature has the power to dispel stereotypes, promote empathy, and humanise disability. At the same time, it criticises instances in which marginalising disabled identities in literature serves to reinforce biased ideas. This paper help store think disability not as limitation but as a part of the human experience, reflecting the diverse ways in which people navigate Identity and belonging in an often – unforgiving world.

In every society people with differences in their physiques and abilities are known as people with disabilities- People First Model, even in the Conventions about the Right of the People with Disabilities. This paper tries to study people with different physiques and abilities in Game of Thrones which is created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, an adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire . This article studies the Social Model of disability which has been organized as a one-dimensional standard society. This model focuses on disability as a social not individual problem. Based on social model of disability, this paper discusses diff-ability and introduces new binary opposition of diff-ability/sim-ability for disability/non-disability. Struggle between standard society for people with similar physiques and abilities and dis-standard society for people with different physiques and abilities which is obvious in this novel, clearly illustrates how the environment of the society affects the fate and the condition of these people. Considering universal popularity of Game of Thrones and the fact that choice of characters with different physiques and abilities can hardly be incidental and that literary works as cultural artifacts and binary oppositions, which are culturally constructed, this paper attempts to transform negative attitudes of society and create positive attitudes toward this population. Positive terminologies, by emphasizing on abilities, create positive attitudes toward people with different physiques and abilities, and negative terminologies produce negative ones. The disability is a kind of ‘problem’ which has source in society. By making society standard for the diff-abled, they would be able as well as the sim-abled people.

Apparently some people upon coming across [Down Syndrome dolls] were offended. […] Still, it’s curious, and telling, what gives offense. Was it the shock of seeing a doll not modeled on the normative form that caused such offense? Or the assumption that any representation of Down Syndrome must naturally intend ridicule? Either way, it would seem that we might benefit from an examination of such reactions—especially as they relate to instances of the idealisation of the human form that dolls […] represent. (Faulkner)

The following article examines the ways of translation of anthroponyms from English to Russian in fantasy fiction and computer games. The purpose of the study is to analyze and compare the anthroponyms translation variants in the literary text. In the following article works of Russian and foreign scientists in the context of anthroponimics were used, the usage of classification models was taken up, comparative analysis and functional analysis were used. The following study can be used in textbooks, in the process of translation and localization of fantasy fiction and computer games. The research material involves translations of anthroponyms of fantasy literature cycles (Harry Potter, The Song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the Rings) and fantasy role-playing computer game "World of Warcraft". Particular patterns of anthroponyms translation were shown in terms of early and modern translations.

Characters with disabilities have a surprisingly long history in science and fantasy fiction, but the date of a book's publication is no guide to the manner in which the characters with disabilities are portrayed. This paper studies, from a personal rather than an academic viewpoint, fantasy and science fiction books in the writer's own collection, and discusses some recurrent themes and motifs, with possible reasons for their use.

There is a certain degree of linguistic anachronism in writing about disability in medieval literature, because the term “disability” itself did not exist in English in the Middle Ages. Its absence from the language until the mid-sixteenth century meant that conceptually, medieval people would probably not have thought of people with disabilities as a group but would have differentiated among them, especially on the basis of recognizable disabilities for which terminology existed (blindness, deafness, lameness, and so forth). Recognition of less easily identifiable disabilities such as cognitive disabilities or mental illness would also have been problematic in this period because medicine as it developed through later centuries was only beginning to appear. So if scholars of medieval literature are sometimes uncertain about how to identify and analyze what appear to be disabilities in medieval texts, such uncertainty can nevertheless yield fruitful readings that contextualize the history of and social responses to apparently non-normate characters and historical figures. What must be acknowledged before turning to the literature of this period is that historically, not all disabled people were considered monsters, and not all of the people who could cure or aid them were considered saints. Disabilities ranging from minor to severe must have been very common in an era when medicine was only beginning to develop, and therefore they must have been understood and accepted as part of daily life. But if medieval society found most disabilities unremarkable, such was not usually the case with medieval literature . As David Mitchell and Sharon Snyder have theorized, disability in literature generally requires a narrative explanation of its origin or a narrative of its eradication, whether through cure or social exclusion. Even so, with historical contextualization, we can move beyond the sometimes extreme representations of disabilities to a greater understanding of their place in medieval culture. If the saints and monsters of this chapter's title were relatively rare, sinners were not: in medieval Christian culture, everyone, both disabled and normate, was considered sinful. The institution that defined sin, the Catholic Church, also exercised a good deal of control over disability-related discourse.

Fantasy Fiction unifies supernatural elements and life with the help of imagination to build something novel. Though it is considered far removed from the primary world, it remains a reflection to reality. George R. R. Martin, an American Writer, created a whole new world as a setting for his Fantasy Fiction series, A Song of Ice and Fire. This he did, not only in the geographical sense but also in the social, political and religious sense. Martin invented religions, customs, traditions, legal systems, and languages to suit these, in order to make his world authentic. His inspirations from Medieval Europe are seen in the architecture, attire, food, mannerisms, social rules, language, and so on, which he constructed for his texts. The series has a complex structure and plot, with more complex characters. It is meant to be a heptalogy, but two more volumes are yet to be published. Gender, Class and Identity are some major concepts being discussed in academics. In this article, understanding of these key terms will be established. Subsequently, select instances from the text will be used to demonstrate how these concepts resonate in the selected text. For this purpose, Critical Discourse Analysis will be used as a method to examine the language used in the select instances. Critical Discourse Analysis is a transdisciplinary tool developed borrowing thoughts from fields like Sociology, Psychology, Linguistics, and Criticism. It is also a part of Hermeneutics as discourse analysis is used to explore the possible interpretations of a text and is, in itself, not a substantiating theory

Theories of justice are usually divided in aim and sphere of operation between redistributive justice (allocation of goods and resources) and recognition justice (ensuring respect and esteem between members of societies regardless of race, ethnicity, sexuality etc.). Divorcing the two is said to create conceptual clarity, but policy chaos in the treatment of complex injustices. Contrary to the received view, my thesis argues recognition and redistribution can only provide an adequate conceptual framework for questions of justice if they operate together and show this in relation to socially excluded and discriminated against groups, with a particular focus on the case of the Roma minority. The first chapter criticises existing theoretical approaches to the connection between recognition and redistribution, most notably Fraser's ‘different logics’ argument. The following chapters establish that neither recognition nor redistribution are theoretically sufficient for capturing the meaning of injustice in certain cases: Chapter 2 argues recognition faces a ‘symmetry problem’ between just and unjust struggles, requiring appeals to redistribution as a demarcation criterion. Chapter 3 argues redistributive attempts to define disability fail to capture the recognition-based concerns of the social model of disability and extrapolates the argument from the 'special' case of disability to the (unfortunately) common case of ethnic discrimination, focusing on the Roma minority. Chapters 4 and 5 define and defend a view of discrimination as a specific pattern of interaction between recognition and redistribution, similar to Sunstein's anti-caste principle but allowing for relevant markers to be socially (rather than physiologically) defined. Chapter 6 argues social exclusion is also, contrary to most current approaches, a matter of recognition and not only redistribution, showing how the two dimensions interact in the case of the Roma minority. I conclude by pointing out that discrimination and social exclusion, while often regarded as separate social issues, are structurally similar with regards to the underlying dynamic between the redistributive and recognition dimensions.

This article introduced China’s leading employment policy for the disabled at first. And then, based on the analysis of the difference between the medical and social model of disability, the transformation from medical to social model of disability in legislation in US and UK were summarized, and the advantages of the social model of disability were admitted in guiding the employment legislation for the disabled. Furthermore, from the perspective of the social model of disability, this article summarized the problems behind the employment policy for the disabled in China and the according enlightenments were put forward. Firstly, China’s government should consider integrating social model in policy-making on the basis of its own situation. To be specific, the formulation of policies should not only focus on the injured individuals, but also pay more attention to the structural barriers in the society that the disabled have suffered. The new objective of those policies should aim at eliminating social oppression and discrimination that widely exist in the modern world. Secondly, China should further optimize the policies without the regulations for the reward or the punishment, so as to enhance the prestige of the policies. Finally, the enforcement mechanism should also be improved to a large extent, therefore truly contributing to the implement of employment policy for the disabled.

Resilience is an interdisciplinary concept that has been interrogated and investigated in a number of fields of research and practice including psychology, climate change, trauma studies, education and disaster planning. This paper considers its position within critical disability studies, popular understandings of disability and the emergence of a disability culture...

Subverting the Monster

In this article I set out to trace the influence of two major sets of ideas: normalisation/srv, and the social model of disability on inclusive research in learning disability. The argument is that normalisation set the agenda for learning disability research for two or more decades. Inclusive researchers continue to apply normalisation thinking to work with people with learning difficulties, particularly in assuming the role of advocate - offering people the opportunity to take on valued social roles and assuming responsibility for promoting positive images. Latterly, a number of researchers have tried to rise to the challenges posed by emancipatory research, particularly in attempting to find ways to put people with learning difficulties in control. This illustrates the influence of thinking emanating from disability studies. However, the paper shows that whilst some ideas from emancipatory research have been applied in learning disability, there are debates in the disability literature that have not been addressed in learning disability research to date. The result is that inclusive research in learning disability is in danger of being marginalised, both in the context of disability studies and in the context of the broad sweep of learning disability research.

Purpose: By reviewing policies on higher education for international students, this article aims to investigate the change of social–historical context, policy issue, and policy solution and provide implications for policymaking. Design/Approach/Methods: The study used qualitative text analysis. One hundred and twelve policy papers were collected from the PKULAW database and the Ministry of Education official website. Deductive categories were constructed under themes like social–historical context, policy issue, and policy solution separately. Findings: Four stages have emerged from the text analysis. The policy focus witnessed a shift from openness to expansion and then to quality. The policies made by the central government changed a lot accordingly. China is increasingly active in higher education internationalization and eager to make the education for international students an attractive brand with high quality. To realize this target, policies should be made based on different types of international students. Additionally, it is necessary that policies provide detailed guidance and accelerate capacity building in all majors. Originality/Value: This study contributes to existing knowledge of higher education for international students in China by providing qualitative policy text analysis, and the insights gained from this study may be of assistance to policymaking in the future.

The aim of this study is to develop perceptual knowledge of dyslexia from adults diagnosed with this condition. Historically, the dominant conceptual frameworks used to study dyslexia stem from psychological or educational practice. These disciplines predominantly draw on professional neuro-biological or educational knowledge that can be broadly summarized within a medical or educational model approach. Both the medical and educational models view dyslexia as resulting from a neurological and learning dysfunction. As such, only a small amount of research has attempted to locate dyslexia within a sociological context. This paper analyses the life narratives of adults diagnosed with dyslexia using the social model of disability. The author investigates the impact that disabling barriers have in education and employment for people with dyslexia. The implications of this are discussed, particularly how issues of disabling barriers and social-class structures affect the lives of people with dyslexia. The paper argues that social-class positioning and institutional discrimination (in the form of disabling barriers) shape the experiences of people living with this condition.