Academic Ableism

Disability and Higher Education (Corporealities: Discourses of Disability)

By: Jay T Dolmage

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Academic Ableism brings together disability studies and institutional critique to recognize the ways that disability is composed in and by higher education and rewrites the spaces, times, and economies of disability in higher education to place disability front and center. For too long, argues Jay Timothy Dolmage, disability has been constructed as the antithesis of higher education, often positioned as a distraction, a drain, a problem to be solved. The ethic of higher education encourages students and teachers alike to accentuate ability, valorize perfection, and stigmatize anything that hints at intellectual, mental, or physical weakness, even as we gesture toward the value of diversity and innovation. Examining everything from campus accommodation processes, to architecture, to popular films about college life, Dolmage argues that disability is central to higher education and that building more inclusive schools allows better education for all.

©2017 Jay Timothy Dolmage (P)2020 University of Michigan Press

Critic reviews

"A comprehensive and detailed critique of ableism in higher education." (Patricia A. Dunn, College English)

Highly recommend

Thought provoking, keep coming back to the commentary on accommodations weeks after finishing the book

An extremely important book for all.

As a disabled individual, accessing higher education has been a monumental struggle because there are so many barriers within academic institutions that limit my accessibility. Based on the discrimination I have faced in academic institutions, I have found very few people in academia are aware of the institutional ableism that exists and how it creates immense barriers for disabled individuals. To the author, thank you for writing this work. I have never heard this topic discussed with such clarity, accuracy and direction. I am so grateful this work exists. This work needs to be shared within academia for more awareness to spread so that disabled individuals can access education without the oppression of ableism.

HigherEd isn't accessible to the differently-able

In case after case, the author (a professor at the University of Waterloo) shows how the decisions that higher education leaders make place barriers to access for all kinds of users. Whether it be steps up to the library entrance or course materials that can't be read by screen readers because of digital rights management, these barriers make equity in learning opportunities almost impossible. This isn't really a "story" book, but it is so clearly written and with such passion that it kept my attention throughout. It's a bit distracting to hear the references and notes called out, but the author makes it clear that he wants his partially-sighted or blind colleagues to be able to use the audiobook as their main reference -- so they would need to be able to track the source of quotations. Greg Chun is a great choice for narrator and he makes any denser bits easy to understand. In sum, this is important work and having an audio version will hopefully make it accessible to busy higher education administrators and faculty members who can listen to it "on the go" and let its insights inform their decision-making. I wish more books like this were available on Audible.

Will Read Again

This is a dense book with history, status quo and suggestions for further improvement. As univeristy administrator, it gave me much to think about. I plan to reread the section about Universal Design, and explore the recommended further readings.

should be mandatory for all faculty

this book should be mandatory professional development for all faculty staff and university employees. Books should be paired with thoughtful meaningful discussions.

very difficult to read

uses inaccessible vocabulary
repeats himself a lot
good message but present more of the opposing side of arguments