Using Historical Materials to Teach Representations of Disability: A First World War Case Study

Abstract

Thinking critically about disability involves recognizing that the idea of disability as an “individual tragedy” for the disabled person is entirely insufficient and unhelpful. This traditional approach encourages the idea that the disabled person’s social circumstances are irrelevant. Disability studies instead views disability as something which takes place within a societal context rather than in a vacuum. As Hugh Gregory Gallagher writes, “There can be no doubt that the way a society perceives and deals with a handicap is a major factor in determining just how disabling – in a real sense – the handicap will be” (25). Gallagher gives a number of examples of how societal perceptions of disability work in practice. He writes: