Discover disability studies

Welcome to Disability Studies 101, a project of the Society for Disability Studies. We aim to serve as a starting resource for students and scholars alike who want to learn more about the field.

Curious what disability studies is all about? Click on the questions below for a brief overview, then delve into our curated content for in-depth answers.

What is disability studies?

Not just a medical field examining individual diagnoses. Disability studies is a growing academic discipline that examines disability — as both a physical or psychological impairment and a social, cultural, interpersonal, and political phenomenon — and the lived experience of people who identify with it.

Why is disability studies important?

In a cultural moment where minority identities of all sorts are being acknowledged and appreciated by wider audiences, why should disability be any different?

One in five Americans experiences disability, and disability studies is a burgeoning field of inquiry that turns a scholarly eye on that community.

Who does disability studies?

Anyone can!

Disability studies scholars are also writers, doctors, historians, architects, teachers, lawyers, lawmakers, anthropologists, philosophers — the list goes on.

Disability studies is a truly interdisciplinary field, and that’s the way it should be, given the breadth and depth of disability itself.