Digital Disability: The social construction of disability in new media
Book Reviewed by Robyn Hunt
Digital Disability: The social construction of disability in new media
Gerard Goggin and Christopher Newell
Published by Rowman and Littlefield, USA, 2003
This book is not for the casual reader. As its title suggests it is a
textbook, one of a Critical Media Series. Don't be put off by this as the
book is a rewarding and thought provoking read for anyone with an
interest in the subject.
Australian academics Goggin and Newell explore the interface between the 'new' and 'digital' media and disability, bringing together disability studies, media and cultural studies with insights from science and technology.
It is more than a theoretical exercise, adding the practical lived
experience of disability as well. (Newell is a wheelchair user.)
The authors comprehensively challenge the notion that technology,
and in particular the new digital media in its many forms is the
answer to a disabling world. They do not deny the many benefits of
such technology, but conclude "not only that technology will never deliver society from the reality of disability, but that disability continues to be constructed through that technology."
It is something that many of us know instinctively but Goggin and Newell
provide us with the well-structured and supported argument in eight chapters and 182 pages of dense writing satisfying to read for both the non-techie like me, or someone working in a more technical area.
There is a minimum of off-putting jargon and specialist terminology is explained.
In exploring the intersection between the worlds of technology and disability
the authors provide many case studies relevant to disabled and non-disabled readers alike. These include examples from telecommunications,
the Internet, and medical technology.
Each chapter is comprehensively annotated and there is an extensive bibliography providing encouragement to read further. A useful index is also included. Examples are drawn from several countries which gives the book a breadth of application and relevance.
Digital Disability raises questions and identifies challenges needing urgent attention in a fast changing sphere of activity. How do we find new ways to work with technologists to "rewire disability" to work for us? The answers, they conclude, are not so much technological as political.
To answer the questions they pose, and to bring about the necessary change it is important therefore that this book reaches a wider audience than the disability community. It should be read by policymakers in the telecommunications, economic, and E-Government fields, among
others, as well as those who create and build the technologies.
It should also provide a valuable resource to members of the working
party developing a draft text for a UN Disability Convention.
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