Abstract
Turning to a postmodernist critique, this chapter draws upon the work of Foucault (1967, 1980, 1988) and Deleuze and Guattari (1984, 2004) to offer an alternative perspective, one which in turn has been shaped by cultural-historical-political-social factors. It builds a picture of individuals at the margins through varied fragments of information, engaging with discussions relating to decentring the disability-impairment dualism, the exercise of power, discourse as power/knowledge, conceptualising disciplinary power, questioning the process of research, understanding higher education as being transformed into the ‘modern’—as a site of surveillance, control, regulation, discipline, punishment and exclusion. It also moves beyond boundaries, challenging dualisms and hierarchical trees, and questioning habitual understandings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
The idea that ‘new’ institutions are shaped in the image of previous institutions was also noted by Durkheim (1984) in relation to the division of labour and types of solidarity. Interestingly. Durkheim (1984) assumes notions of progression (as in the advancement of civilisation, but not necessarily related to happiness) rather than experiences of conflict, confinement and control.
- 3.
Schizo is opposed to psycho, rather than psychoanalysis Deleuze and Guattari use schizoanalysis in order to explain its multiplicity. Rhizome is as explained above. A nomad is a traveller, it corresponds to the multiple ways experiences are situated. Not necessarily at the beginning or at the end, but constantly in the middle. This links to Foucault’s work, and resonates and responds to those useless questions: where are you from, where are you going, etc.
- 4.
Read Foucault (1967) for an understanding of how the symbol of knowledge, the forbidden tree and the tree of knowledge, in relation to madness had previously been uprooted and formed the mast of Bosch’s Ship of Fools (Stultifera Navis), which was later transformed into a hospital. In terms of higher education, Foucault discovers later that behind the doctoral cap is a fool’s cap sewn with bells.
- 5.
Read Durkheim (1984: 256) for a critique of heredity in relation to the division of labour. Durkheim interestingly provides an exception, namely, that mathematics is the first of the sciences and music is the first of the arts to have been cultivated in the history of humanity.
- 6.
Read Lukes (1974) for an understanding of ‘power’ and how a one-dimensional focus on behaviour is insufficient and unsatisfactory.
- 7.
Read Dickens (2003) for an explanation of the connection between Argus Panoptes in Greek mythology, who had a 100 eyes, of which at any one time 50 were always open and the rest asleep. Mitchell (contributing notes) suggests that this is relevant to the prison imagery in relation to Bentham’s model for a prison , in which a single guard could keep an eye on many prisoners , each ‘in solitary confinement’.
- 8.
Read Hibberd (2003) for an example of when an asylum and higher institution converged and arguably became indistinguishable. For example, during the First World War, it had been known that authorities used the new term ‘neurasthenia’ to ensure such individuals were not sent to the asylum; whereas, those war-wounded who were said to be ‘degenerates’ and were reporting experiences of shell-shock were at times sent to the asylum. Interestingly, Hibberd provides an example of Craiglockhart War Hospital, which was in close proximity to Craig House, which was previously the Royal Edinburgh Asylum, which later became Craig House Campus of Napier University.
Bibliography
Alec-Tweedie, E. (1912). Eugenics. Fortnight, 61, 854–865.
Allan, J. (2008). Rethinking inclusive education: The philosophers of difference in practice. Dordrecht: Springer.
Alvermann, D. E. (2000). Researching libraries, literacies, and lives: A Rhizoanalysis. In E. A. St. Pierre & W. S. Pillow (Eds.), Working the ruins: Feminist poststructural theory and methods in education. London: Routledge.
Ball, C. (1990a). More means different: Widening access to higher education (final report). London: RSA.
Ball, J. S. (Ed.). (1990b). Foucault and education: Disciplines and knowledge. London: Routledge.
Barnes, C. (2002). Emancipatory disability research: Project or process? Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 2(1), 3–17.
Barnes, C., Mercer, G., & Shakespeare, T. (1999). Exploring disability: A sociological introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Becker, H. (1967). Whose side are we on? Social Problems, 14, 239–247.
Bentham, J. (1995). The Panopticon writing (with an introduction by Miran Bozovic). London: Verso.
Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1991). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. London: Penguin Books.
Booth, T. (2000). Inclusion and exclusion policy in England: Who controls the agenda? In F. Armstrong, D. Armstrong, & L. Barton (Eds.), Inclusive education: Policy, contexts and comparative perspectives. London: David Fulton.
Bronowski, J. (1973). The ascent of man. London: Book Club Associates.
Burr, V. (1995). An introduction to social constructionism. London: Routledge.
Burt, C. (1937). The backward child. London: London University Press Ltd.
Corbett, J. (1996). Bad mouthing: The language of special education. London: Falmer Press.
Davis, L. J. (1995). Enforcing normalcy: Disability, deafness and the body. London: Verso.
Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1984). Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and schizophrenia. London: Continuum.
Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (2004). A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (trans: Massumi, B.), London: Continuum.
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills: DfIUS. (2008). Bridging the gap: A guide to the disabled students’ allowances (DSAs) in higher education 2008/09. London: HMSO.
Dickens, C. (2003). In C. Mitchell (Ed.), Great expectations. London: Penguin Classics.
Dreyfus, H. L., & Rabinow, P. (1982). Michel Foucault: Beyond structuralism and hermeneutics. Brighton: The Harvester Press Ltd.
Durkheim, E. (1984). The division of labour in society. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd.
Edgerton, R. B. (1971). The cloak of competence: Stigma in the lives of the mentally retarded. London: University of California Press Ltd.
Edgerton, R. B. (1984). The participant-observer approach to research in mental retardation. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88(5), 498–405.
Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power (2nd ed.). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Finkelstein, V., & Stuart, O. (1996). Developing new services. In G. Hales (Ed.), Beyond disability: Towards an enabling society. London: Sage.
Foucault, M. (1967). Madness and civilisation: A history of insanity in the age of reason. London: Tavistock Publications Ltd.
Foucault, M. (1970). ‘The order of discourse’, (inaugural lecture at the college de France 2 Dec 1970). In R. Young (Ed.)., (1981) Untying the text: A post-structuralist reader. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Harmondsworth: Peregrine Books.
Foucault, M. (1978). The history of sexuality, Vol 1: An introduction (trans: Huxley, R.). Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Foucault, M. (1980). Power/knowledge; selected interviews and other writings. Brighton: Harvester Press.
Foucault, M. (1981). The order of discourse. In R. Young (Ed.), Untying the text: A post-structuralist reader. London: Routledge.
Foucault, M. (1988). Politics, philosophy and culture, interviews and other writings 1977–1984 (trans: Sheridan, A. and others). London: Routledge.
Fulcher, G. (1999). Disabling policies: A comparative approach to education policy and disability. Sheffield: Philip Armstrong Publications.
Galton, F. (1909). ‘Segregation’ in Great Britain (1909). The problem of the feeble-minded: An abstract of the report of the royal commission on the care and control of the feeble-minded. London: P.S. King and Son.
Garner, R. (2005, May 24). ‘Uneducable’ man who learnt to beat disability. The Independent, p. 11.
Gee, P. J. (2006). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method (2nd ed.). Oxon: Routledge.
Gerber, D. A. (1990). Listening to disabled people: The problem of voice and authority in Robert B. Edgerton’s the cloak of competence. Disability, Handicap & Society, 5(1), 3–23.
Gerth, H. H., & Mills, C. W. (Eds.). (1974). From Max Weber: Essays in sociology. London: Routledge.
Greenbank, P. (2006). The evolution of government policy on widening participation. Higher Education Quarterly, 60(2), 141–166.
Gutteridge, R. (2001). Evaluating the role of the life skills in successful participation. In L. Thomas, M. Cooper, & J. Quinn (Eds.), Access to higher education: The unfinished business. Stoke-on-Trent: European Access Network.
Hibberd, D. (2003). Wilfred Owen: A new biography. London: Weidenfield and Nicolson.
Hughes, B. (2004). Disability and the body. In J. Swain, S. French, C. Barnes, & C. Thomas (Eds.), Disabling barriers – Enabling environments. London: Sage.
Hughes, B., & Peterson, K. (1997). The social model of disability and the disappearing body: Towards a sociology of impairment. Disability & Society, 12(3), 325–340.
Illich, I., Zola, I. K., McKnight, J., Caplan, J., & Shaiken, H. (Eds.). (1977). Disabling professions. London: Marion Boyars Publishers Limited.
Itard, J.-M.-G. (1962). The wild boy of Aveyron (L’enfant Sauvage). New York: Meredith Publishing Company.
Kikabhai, N. (2003). Working towards an emancipatory research approach. Unpublished dissertation, MRes, Institute of Education, University of London.
Kikabhai, N. (2014). ‘Learning difficulties’ and the academy. PhD thesis. Manchester: MMU.
Leicester, M. (1993). Race for a change in continuing and higher education. Buckingham: Oxford University Press.
Lukes, S. (1974). Power: A radical view. Hampshire: The Basingstoke Press.
Marks, D. (1999). Disability: Controversial debates and psychosocial perspectives. London: Routledge.
Mills, S. (2004). Discourse (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Mills, S. (2009). Michel Foucault. Oxon: Routledge.
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2003). Disability in higher education. Paris: OECD.
OIA: Office of Independent Adjudicators. (2007). Resolving student complaints – Annual report. [Available online] www.oia.org.uk. Accessed 2 Feb 2009.
OIA: Office of Independent Adjudicators. (2012). Annual report. [Available online] www.oia.org.uk. Accessed 1 Jan 2013.
Oksala, J. (2007). Foucault. London: Granta Publications.
Oliver, M. (1990). The politics of disablement. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd.
Oliver, M. (1992). Changing the social relations of research production. Disability, Handicap & Society, 7(2), 101–114.
Oliver, M. (1996a). Understanding disability: From theory to practice. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.
Oliver, M. (1996b). Re-defining disability: A challenge to research. In J. Swain, V. Finkelstein, S. French, & M. Oliver (Eds.), Disabling barriers – Enabling environments. London: Sage.
Oliver, M. (2001). Disability issues in the postmodern world. In L. Barton (Ed.), Disability, politics and the struggle for change. London: David Fulton Publishers.
Peters, S. (1996). The politics of disability identity. In L. Barton (Ed.), Disability & society: Emerging issues and insights. Essex: Addison Wesley Longman Ltd.
Radford, J. P. (2000). Academy and asylum: Power, knowledge and mental disability. In R. H. Brown & J. D. Schubert (Eds.), Knowledge and power in higher education: A reader. London: Teachers College Press.
Robertson, D., & Hillman, J. (1997). Report 6: Widening participation in higher education for students from lower socio-economic groups and students with disabilities, (The National Committee of inquiry into higher education). Norwich: HMSO.
Scott, D., & Usher, R. (1999). Researching education: Data, methods and theory in educational enquiry. London: Continuum.
Sheridan, A. (1980). Michel Foucault: The will to truth. London: Tavistock Publications Ltd.
Silent Minority. (1981). ATV Network Limited [video recording], Director: Nigel Evans.
Simons, H. (2009). Case study research in practice. London: Sage.
Skrtic, M. T. (Ed.). (1995). Disability and democracy: Reconstructing (special) education for postmodernity. New York: Teachers College Press.
Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant observation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Synnott, A. (1997). The body social: Symbolism, self and society. London: Routledge.
Tamboukou, M., & Ball, S. J. (2003). Dangerous encounters: Genealogy and ethnography. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Taylor, R., Barr, J., & Steele, T. (2002). For a radical higher education: After postmodernism. Buckingham: Oxford University Press.
Thomas, C. (1999). Female forms: Experiencing and understanding disability. Buckingham: Oxford University Press.
Thomas, G., & Loxley, A. (2001). Deconstructing special education and constructing inclusion. Buckingham: Oxford University Press.
Tomlinson, S. (1982). A sociology of special education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.
Tomlinson, S. (2004). Race and education. In L. Ware (Ed.), Ideology and the politics of (in) exclusion. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Turner, B. S. (2008). The body and society (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
Usher, R., & Edwards, R. (1994). Postmodernism and education. London: Routledge.
Vernon, A., & Swain, J. (2002). Theorising divisions and hierarchies: Towards a commonality or diversity? In C. Barnes, M. Oliver, & L. Barton (Eds.), Disability studies today. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Walker, A. (1981). Beyond the international year of disabled people. In A. Walker & P. Townsend (Eds.), Disability in Britain: A manifesto of rights. Oxford: Martin Robertson & Co Ltd.
Williams, R. (1967). Culture and society 1780–1950. London: Chatto & Windus Ltd.
Williams, R. (1981). Culture. London: Fontana Press.
Woodrow, M., Lee, M. L., McGrane, J., Osborne, B., Pudner, H., & Trotman, C. (1998). From elitism to inclusion: Good practice in widening access to higher education. London: CVCP.
Woods, T. (1999). Beginning postmodernism. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Wright, D. (2008). Mental disability in Victorian England: The Earlswood Asylum 1847–1901. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kikabhai, N. (2018). Disability and the Turn to Postmodern Perspectives. In: The Rhetoric of Widening Participation in Higher Education and its Impact. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75966-1_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75966-1_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75965-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75966-1
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)