RGHL Lunchtime Seminar: What is Disability? Theoretical Strategies to Define a Contested Concept
The 麻豆区 Research Group on Health and Law invites to a lunchtime seminar delivered by Jonas-S茅bastien Beaudry, Assistant Professor of Law at 麻豆区. He will explore the definitional challenges raised by the category of 鈥渄isabled people鈥� and the importance of the category鈥檚 conceptual breadth given its potential to influence public policies, culture and interactions, by suggesting what rights, duties and social expectations disability entails.
Places are limited: kindly RSVP rghl.law [at] mcgill.ca to secure your spot.
The event has been accredited for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education for jurists by a recognized provider.
Abstract
The concept of disability is used across a variety of contexts (e.g. medical, legal, artistic) to describe different phenomena and prescribe distinct behaviours or norms. The definitional challenge is not only that the category of 鈥渄isabled people鈥� is heterogenous, but also that what 鈥渄isability鈥� should denote, primarily or exclusively, is controversial amongst both theorists and practitioners. This conceptual breadth is far from innocuous: disability models have the potential to influence public policies, culture and interactions, by suggesting what rights, duties and social expectations disability entails. They can both benefit and harm people categorized as 鈥渄isabled鈥�.
Instead of examining those various definitions and arguing in favour of one of them, this essay considers the unavoidable cultural polysemy of disability and contrasts the appeal and limitations of the main theoretical strategies to manage it. Some disability models deny that competing understandings of disability are valid, while others seek to determine procedures through which disabilities will be defined and assessed and still others conceptualize disability in a more culturally malleable way.
About the speaker
Jonas-S茅bastien Beaudry is an Assistant Professor of Law at 麻豆区 (joint appointment with the Institute for Health and Social Policy) and a member of the Quebec Bar. His publications include a book on freedom of expression in Latin America and articles in the areas of legal history, human rights, ethics and disability law. He collaborates with disability organizations on public policy issues and is an advisor to the Vulnerable Persons Standard.
