The rhetoric of disability: a dramatistic-narrative analysis ofOne Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

In this article the authors introduce a rhetorical perspective into disability studies by exploring the work of Kenneth Burke (1969). Specifically, the focus is on how Burke's theory of dramatism can be used in disability research as well as in teaching disability studies, as it holds potential for the production of a diversity of social interpretations of the relationship between ‘impairment’, ‘disability’ and a disabling society. The focus shifts to Burke's dramatistic pentad and the concept of circumference as possible tools for teaching social work students to deal with ambiguity in their prospective practice. The authors discuss how a rhetorical analysis of ‘mental health problems’ in the seminal movie, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, has been introduced in a Master's degree course on cultural studies for social work students at Ghent University, Belgium. In conclusion, the relevance of a rhetorical perspective for social work students is discussed, in order to orient and reorient their prospective practice, based on a diversity of social interpretations of ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’.