Representing Autism: A Sociological Examination of Autism Advocacy

Authors

  • Anne McGuire Equity Studies Program, New College, University of Toronto

Abstract

This paper explores how the cultural phenomenon of autism is being structured by autism advocacy work in the contemporary West. Drawing on recent work in the field of disability studies, I analyze critically the social significance and productive effects of advocacy campaigns that represent autism as a life-threatening pathology.

Résumé

Cet essai explore comment le phénomène culturel de l'autisme est structuré par le travail militant effectué dans les sphères occidentales contemporaines. En se basant sur les travaux récents effectués dans le domaine des études sur l'invalidité, j'analyse de manière critique la signification sociale et les effets productifs des campagnes de plaidoyer, qui représentent l'autisme comme une pathologie mortelle

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Author Biography

Anne McGuire, Equity Studies Program, New College, University of Toronto

Anne McGuire, Assistant Professor in the Equity Studies Program, New College, University of Toronto, conducts her research from a critical disability perspective to analyze contemporary cultural representations of disability and the production of normative acts of violence against disabled people. Her research has been published in journals such as Disability Studies Quarterly and the Journal of Educational Philosophy and Theory. This article is drawn from her SSHRC-funded doctoral research project, "The war on autism: On normative violence and the cultural production of autism advocacy" (2011).

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Published

2012-05-17

Issue

Vol. 35 No. 2 (2012): "Disorderly Conduct" / Women's Studies and Pedagogy

Section

Original Research

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