Discourse analysis and disability: Some topics and issues

Disability is an underexplored topic in discourse analysis. A stronger emphasis on disability issues would be in keeping with the academic principles and political priorities of critical discourse analysis. Simultaneously, a discourse analysis perspective is needed in disability studies. Although that field has produced a considerable amount of discourse-oriented research, it is structured around theoretical models that appear adversarial and incompatible. In practice, many of the incompatibilities dissolve into divisions between different areas of discourse production. A greater awareness of discourse analysis will aid disability studies, both in terms of theoretical development and in furthering its goals of social change.