Disability studies in German speaking countries: An introduction
Anne Waldschmidt, University of Cologne
Co-author(s): Swantje Köbsell, University of Bremen
Abstract
Disability studies in German speaking countries only started in 2001, when an international conference introduced the issue to a broader public. Since then, the interest in disability studies has continually been increasing. In Austria, Germany and Switzerland, more and more people with and without disabilities keep getting involved. This is especially true for Germany, where in 2002 a working group 'Disability Studies - we do research ourselves' was founded. In 2003 a summer institute 'Disability studies in Germany - Re-thinking disability' took place in Bremen, Germany. At this event, more than three hundred disabled people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland met to discuss various aspects of disability studies. Though Germany as well as Austria have had disability rights movements since the late 1970s nothing like disability studies ever developed in these countries, even though there has been criticism on mainstream disability research from the very beginning. Also, disabled activists have always opposed the predominant medical model of disability with its negative attributions and defect orientation, albeit with a different terminology than in international disability studies. Segregation is the pivotal term which is used in our country to support the political demand for abolition of all segregative institutions, as well as pointing out oppressive societal mechanisms and their consequences. In German speaking contexts disability is conceived as an oppressive relationship between non-disabled and disabled people and the right to full participation in all areas of society is demanded. Explicitly, a social model of disability was never developed, implicitly it is ubiquitous in the German discourse as well. And even though a generally acknowledged definition of disability does not exist, verbalizations of a 'German social model of disability' can be found all the same. Since 2001, German speaking disability studies scholars have been busy to work on various issues. Efforts are being made to establish disability studies in the academia as well as introducing the approach into public discourses, inside and outside the disability rights movement. In our paper we will present an introduction in German speaking disability studies, its history, approaches, perspectives and shortcomings. We are both eye-witness to the birth and development of the German disability rights movement and to the evolving disability studies in our part of the world. By way of presenting the new disability studies community of our country we want to stimulate discussion amongst scholars and activists from different backgrounds, and help to build up a European network of critical disability studies.