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While disability scholars are increasingly exploring the experiences of disabled employees within the academe, there seemingly does not exist literature on this topic in South Africa. In this autoethnography, I make sense of my experiences as a visually impaired university lecturer. I dissect my continual performances of able-bodiedness – my efforts to conceal truths around my disability – despite a seemingly inclusive work environment. I discuss the psychological cost of these performances and, lastly, illustrate the importance of a creative, open and responsive attitude on the part of nondisabled colleagues and managers to help their disabled colleagues to become their true and authentic self. While literature on the experiences of Black academics is on the rise, very few studies investigate the experiences of disabled academics; Currently, there is no literature that tells the stories of disabled academics within South Africa; In this autoethnography, I narrate aspects of my experiences as an academic with a visual impairment; In this paper, I unravel my continual able-bodied performances within the academy and the cost thereof; Lastly, I discuss the importance of open and responsive relationships between managers and disabled academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this autoethnography, BW and I explore the various ways in which my experiences of lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic are not altogether different from my everyday experiences as a visually impaired person. Further, we make sense of my experience that, notwithstanding the social world's expression of feelings about lockdown and social distancing, my own reactions to disability-imposed lockdown remain unrecognized, invalidated and unseen. Making sense of these experiences of invisibility is essential, since it is only when our experiences are truly contemplated by others that we can have the hope of being fully known. In this paper, my co-author and I explain the various ways in which my experiences of lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic are not altogether different from my everyday experiences as a visually impaired person; I provide examples to illustrate that there are anxiety-provoking challenges lurking outside my home; Yet, giving in to these anxieties and being confined to my home is too painful to give in to; While my everyday experiences are, too some extent, what the world is experiencing at the current moment with social distancing and lockdown, my feelings about disability-imposed lockdown remain unrecognized, invalidated and unseen; It is important to voice and make known these realities, For it is only when our experiences are truly seen—when we are completely known—that we can move towards self-acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper problematises the notion of research production within disability studies by comparing literature on emancipatory research with concepts of reflexivity, authority and empowerment employed within ethnographic research. It critically examines a number of proposals within disability studies on how researchers can stimulate or contribute to processes which improve their respondents life conditions. A variety of strategies for change are discussed within the context of how ethnographers do fieldwork, and write up and disseminate their findings. This discussion also questions the role of the researcher and respondent as 'expert', suggesting that ethnographers should not privilege their own perspectives over that of respondents. It is concluded that the variety of research strategies and roles outlined in this paper need not be mutually exclusive and therefore, that there are a number of different yet complementary ways in which researchers can contribute to the conditions within which self-emancipation flourishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the social model of disability currently inform the delivery of services for people labelled as having profound and complex learning difficulties? What distinguishes practice which draws on the social model from that which is influenced by an individual model or a medical model of disability? This paper draws on the findings of a small scale interpretive research study and some of the current debates within disability studies to illuminate these questions. It concludes that the social model can and does positively impact on some practice and that it should be taught to all providers of services for this group. It further concludes that to include discussion about individual experience of impairment in such training may have negative consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this analytical autoethnography, I share some of my complex relational experiences between my partner with a severe physical disability, his carers and myself. The article explores the benefits of care and carers, the physical and emotional costs of carers and some of the general considerations taken in this triad relationship. I share some of my relational experiences with an audience who might not normally encounter or have thought about the dynamic relationships between this triad. It is hoped that this will stimulate an interest to open dialogue, offer support and provide an insight into the lives of some relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article we address a number of visual narratives that represent physical disability in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo. Drawing on visual material that was collected before and during anthropological fieldwork (between 2010 and 2014) we offer an insight into the interrelation between representations and physical disability within a Congolese context, as represented in four documentaries. The text briefly reflects on representations of the ‘Other’ and wants to add a reflection on representations of disability that originate from an African urban context. Our examples are complemented with in situ analyses derived from fieldwork that question how particular narratives portray disability and dis(en)ablement within a Congolese socio-cultural context. Thus we invite to look beyond the images. Finally, the article adds a critical reflection about these visual narratives as dis/enabling through their specific construction of dis-ability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social theories are usually developed to enable a clearer understanding of a situation or problem. The `Social Model' in various forms is currently the dominant model for researching disability, addressing disability from within a socio-political framework that draws substantially on a `social constructionist' perspective. This article critiques some of the core sociological assumptions of the Social Model, questioning what `work' this kind of theory does in informing a set of practical concerns around the design of assistive technologies, suggesting an alternative framework of analysis, supported by extensive ethnomethodologically informed ethnographic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on a 1 year ethnographic study of the process of teacher training from an inclusive position and that of general postgraduate training. Student teachers elected either to teach a given subject or to train in 'inclusive education' which aims to accommodate all learners, regardless of the notion of 'disability' or other forms of difference. The inclusive position challenges the notion of 'difference' and invites examination into how educational policy has the potential to enforce oppressive norms. The research reported here illustrates how socially constructed norms in relation to behavior and achievement are reproduced in the classroom. Ethnographic data demonstrates how educational philosophy is delivered to student teachers that supports either exclusive or inclusive strategies of teaching. The political environment that student teachers are immersed in is examined, together with documentation of the process of training and its inherent politics. Reflective points include how the political environment which teaching is delivered simultaneously creates and enforces dominant discourses of difference. Critical reflection on this research suggests that those involved in inclusive approaches to education need to be vigilant against the inclusive argument becoming a mantra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]