This concept focuses on the "cultural locations of disability". Rather than viewing disability strictly as a medical deficit or a social oppression, this framework locates disability as a cultural phenomenon. It aligns with Nusbaum’s argument that research is inherently non-neutral and should examine how disability is produced within cultural contexts rather than just observed as a biological fact.

Theoretical Advancements in DS: Cultural Models (Snyder & Mitchell)

This theory positions the "impaired body as existing before language and social construction". This is a crucial distinction for researchers using Discursive Psychology. While DP focuses on how reality is constructed through talk (language), Siebers’ theory reminds scholars that the physical, impaired body has a central reality that precedes description. It bridges the gap between the physical reality of impairment and the social construction of disability.

Theoretical Advancements in DS: Realist Disability Theory (Siebers)

This concept involves "centering the disabled bodymind at the beginning/center of knowledge production". A combination of "crip" theory and "epistemology" (the study of knowledge), this framework challenges who gets to be the "knower." It argues that knowledge should stem directly from the lived experience of the disabled bodymind, rather than disability being a subject studied from the outside by non-disabled experts.

Theoretical Advancements in DS: Cripstemologies (Johnson & McRuer)

These are described as "spaces in which disability is rendered desirable". This concept aggressively rejects deficit-based models (which view disability as a tragedy or burden). Instead, it envisions futures and social spaces where disability is valued and wanted, aligning with Nusbaum's call for research that supports the "active construction" of disability as a positive ideology rather than a static problem.

Theoretical Advancements in DS: Crip Horizons (Kolářová)

- Cultural Models (Snyder & Mitchell)
- Realist Disability Theory (Siebers)
- Cripistemologies (Johnson & McRuer)
- Crip Horizons (Kolářová)

State University of New York at Binghamton

In Chapter 8, Emily A. Nusbaum responds to three preceding chapters to demonstrate the methodological compatibility between discursive psychology (DP) and disability studies (DS). She argues that DP serves as a valuable framework for DS because it rejects static foundations of truth and deficit-based models in favor of viewing disability as constructed through discourse,. The author highlights how the previous chapters utilize DP to reveal how interactions regarding school structures, mental health "burdens," and students with complex support needs actively construct disability. Ultimately, Nusbaum posits that DP’s focus on active meaning-making aligns with theoretical advancements in DS, such as cripistemologies and cultural models, by uncovering disability as an ideology rather than a fixed fact.

Chapter 8: Intersections of Discursive Psychology and Disability Studies

Lester, J. N. (Ed.). (2021). Discursive Psychology and Disability. Palgrave Studies in Discursive Psychology. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Reference For: Discursive Psychology and Disability

- The Basis of Disability
- The Nature of Disability

Why Discursive Psychology Fits Disability Studies

- Reardon & Ivey (Chapter 2: Schools)
- O’Reilly (Chapter 3: Mental Health)
- D’Ardenne et al. (Chapter 5: Complex Support Needs)

Emily A. Nusbaum's Responses to Specific Chapters

- Core Analytic Questions 
- Active Meaning-Making

Learn Before

Related

Learn After