Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Disabled Civil War Veterans and Disability Pensions

Feigning Disability and Vietnam Draft Evasion

Rehabilitation or Nothing: Visual Representations of Disabled World War One Veterans

Disability and Mining Communities


Bibliography
Bronzino, Agnolo. Portrait of the Dwarf Morgante. 1552. Oil on linen canvas. Museum, Florence, Italy.

Maytsys, Quentin. The Ugly Duchess. 1513. Oil on wood. Museum, London, England.

Raphael. Triumph of Galatea. 1514. Fresco. Private Collection, Rome, Italy.

Valades, Didacus. Great Chain of Being. 1579. private collection.

Watson, Keri. “Disability in Art History.” Edited by Jon Mann. arthistoryteachingresources.org. Accessed December 15, 2015. http://arthistoryteachingresources.org/lessons/disability-in-art-history/.

Research proposal disabled politicians

The Disability Rights Movement and Reform Judaism

Saturday, December 12, 2015

How-to: Embedding Google Docs into Blogger

Below you'll find the screencast that explains how to go about embedding your final papers or multimedia presentations into the blog. Make sure to have completed this and posted your final projects by 4:00 pm on Wednesday, December 16.

If you didn't see the prior post, you can get access to the rubric that I'll use for your projects here, which happens to be the subject of the screencast.



If you've just finished the video, I hope you enjoyed my ominous lighting choices and delightfully floral backdrop! That's all meant to enhance the viewing experience and spur you on to great and compelling research proposals!

Please be in touch if you have any questions about the technical or research aspects of the project. Thanks again for a great semester and I'm looking forward to seeing what interesting research topics everyone develops!

Single-Point Rubric for our Final Projects

Monday, December 7, 2015

Contemporary Issues: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

This past week's readings raised some very troubling ethical concerns. They also built upon some of our previous discussions regarding intersectionality, social vs. medical model, and disability activism. The issue of euthanasia has proven to be a very heated and controversial issues that raises many questions on both sides. Ultimately, Longmore, Braswell, and Singer all build upon last week's discussions to demonstrate that the disability rights continues to be an issue that evades our society.

Given that this class is a disability studies class, I recognize that many of you will disagree with and may even find the Singer article rather repulsive. However, I would first like to begin by analyzing why Singer concludes what he does on certain issues. Singer utilizes a truly utilitarian framing when analyzing the issue of infanticide. According to Singer, the birth of a disabled infant may "turn the normally joyful event of birth into a threat to the happiness of the parents, and any other children they may have." According to Singer, a disabled infant is most likely to live a life that is less valuable and pleasurable than that of an able-bodied infant. Before we hasten to dismiss the absurdity of Singer's arguments, I think it is important to note that Singer's claim carries some validity. Given the way that society has been constructed so as to limit accessibility to things such transportation, labor, and independent living for disabled individuals, Singer's claim appears to be true. However, operating solely upon a utilitarian calculus runs into some serious problems. Singer's analysis fails to analyze the structural issues that shape the disabled infant's life in such a way. Furthermore, Singer's claim assumes that because these disabled infants do not possess the ability to determine for themselves as to whether or not they wish to live, it is up to outside forces to make that decision for them. The problem here is that this decision assumes that the disabled individuals would be willing to die. If it is true that they cannot make the delineation between life and death, why should they not be given the chance to make that decision later on in life? Operating from a purely utilitarian standpoint, Singer's argument makes sense; there would be more "value" if the child were to die at an earlier age. Singer then goes on to explain his views regarding voluntary euthanasia, which I will be focusing most of my discussion on. Singer's argument revolves fundamentally around the idea that the individual is a rational, self-conscious being that has chosen death. This argument, once again, seems like a perfectly logical conclusion. However, the problem with all three of Singer's assumptions is that none of them analyze the underlying political, economic, and social forces that dictate the realities for the disabled individuals places in these situations. Thus, I turn to Braswell and Longmore to offer some critical insights on this issue. 

Braswell indicates that physician assisted suicide (PAS) ought not to be viewed through a biological lens, but rather through a lens that understands the social forces surrounding the individual's decision. According to Braswell, "the suffering of individuals eligible for euthanasia is due... to social discrimination against the incurably sick and disabled. Desire to die among these populations occurs when the patients internalize this discrimination" (80). The call for euthanasia ought not to be understood as a rational plea for the end to one's suffering, but rather as a signal that the disabled individual is facing extreme pressure from societal forces. This understanding interacts very well with Longmore's analysis. 

Longmore isolates several problems with PAS. Longmore's first argument is that the US health system and society write large is geared toward the discrimination of disabled individuals. In the case of Lary McAfree, the hospital placed him in the ICU for a prolonged period of time. According to Longmore, the constant light, noise, and chaos can cause a person to experience "ICU psychosis" (182). Due to McAfree's continued exposure to this environment, he experienced extreme psychological breakdowns. However, Longmore notes that McAfree never experienced proper psychological evaluation (182). This failure to provide proper treatment emerges from what Longmore describes as "a health care system and society pervaded with discrimination and prejudice against people with disabilities" (178). Such an analysis calls into questions Singer's assumption of a rational individual. Instead, these individuals appear to be victims to extremely harsh conditions imposed upon them by the medical system. The fact that doctors are constantly urging them to sign Do Not Resuscitate forms only compounds the situation, as it proves that the medical system "pays only lip service to 'autonomy' and 'freedom of choice' for disabled people" (Longmore, 178). 

Furthermore,  Longmore argues that "deployment of notions like 'dignity' and 'dependency'... are highly value-laden concepts that in and of themselves shape perceptions" (190). The argument that the disabled individual's life is less valuable only serves to reify the image of the ideal American citizen: the white, able-bodied, affluent male. In fact, Longmore cites a survey in which a majority of disabled individuals rated their lives as valuable and worth living (179). The reason why people view disability as detracting form a person's quality of life is because becoming disabled is associated with dependency, causing one "to become the inversion of what a real American is supposed to be" (190). This analysis relates to our discussions of intersectionality as well as some of the discussions on the immigration unit. The central notion of the American identity revolves around the deal demos - a population of white, able-bodied, individualistic ruffians who conduct an honest work. The problem with this assertion is that it necessarily excludes disabled individuals, people of color, women, and other social minorities. However, relating back to last week's discussion on 'Disability Pride," Longmore indicates that the disability rights movement in general has understood 'self-determination' in a significantly different way from the majority culture" (190-191). Thus, one recognizes the powerful potential within disability activism in the context of PAS. Singer's struggle is that he assumes that disabled individuals will inherently live a life less valuable than that of an able-bodied individual. However, Longmore's analysis demonstrates that these notions of value rely on a fundamentally able-bodied conception of value. Instead, Longmore argues, we must recognize that the perception of lost value a. emerges form social discrimination toward disabled individuals and b. is not necessarily lost value according to disabled individuals. 

Finally, I would like to briefly touch on the issue of class as it relates to Longmore's discussion. Longmore discusses several problematic corporation such as Ethix Corporation, Humana, and OMAP. I found the OMAP example particularly disturbing and exemplary of the way in which class intersects with disability on the issue of PAS. Longmore indicates that OMAP cut funding for a series of anti-depressant drugs, AIDS drugs, in-home services, etc. and continued funding of PAS. Longmore indicates that this decision demonstrated "a declaration of class-warfare against the poor, many of whom are sick or disabled" (194). The problem with the free-market in the US appears to be that everything has become privatized, even health. Thus, corporations dictate the access to different medical treatments based upon profit margins. Combined with the fact that disabled people have very little access to labor or a steady wage means that companies choose to favor PAS, and because disabled and poor people can't afford alternative treatments, they are seemingly forced into choosing PAS. The decision no longer seems autonomous. Rather, it is forced onto these individuals via market pressures. 
A cartoon highlights the problem with corporate care-management and the way in which it forces people to choose PAS.

A very interesting 13 minute documentary about one of the most recent, publicized end of life/euthanasia debates
A pro-PAS protestor stands outside the SCOTUS. Notice the language of liberty. Longwell argues that the choice for PAS is not truly liberty, but rather a "masked" forced choice.


Longmore, Braswell, and Singer all provide very interesting analysis. However, it seems that only an understanding of the social, political, and economic forces can allow one to truly recognize the corruption inherent within the PAS system. There are many issues that I did not discuss, which I have geared my questions toward in the hope that you all will discuss them. Therefore, I propose the following questions:
1. How does a class based analysis aid a disability based analysis and vice versa? How might they detract from one another?
2. Why does Longmmore assume that PAS is justified for terminally ill people? Are there any problems with his assumption? (see Felicia Ackerman in the Braswell article.)
3. How might the ethical framing shape our understanding of PAS? i.e. Singer uses utilitarianism. Would a libertarianism, kantian, consequentialist, etc. framing impact our understanding of the issue?
4. In other countries, life prolonging techniques are not pursued as aggressively due to cultural or practical matters such as affordability or access. What is the difference between PAS and these cultures? Would PAS be justified in these areas? More broadly, is there ever a moment in which a person with disability may have a legitimate request for PAS. 
5. Longmore concludes that any discussion of policies regarding PAS should require the presence of members of the disability rights movement. Should members of other social minorities also be present for such discussions?
6. Both Singer and Longmore discuss the comparison between Nazi eugenics and PAS. Which one of them is correct in their analysis?
7. Longmore discusses gender as a specific instance of intersectionality within the issue of PAS. How might an intersectional (gender/disability) analyis of PAS aid our understanding of the issue? Relate this to the issue of the ideal American man.
8. Strategic Essentialism?

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Discussion Recap




Looking back at our discussion, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on and note down some key points and questions. Towards the end of our discussion, we focused primarily on the implications that the cross-disability and cross-movement coalitions held and how (especially within Sam's, Maddie's, and Jaden's points) these coalitions may have specifically aided those with intersectional statuses (as Kyle discussed) through establishing an ethic of activism, creating an open, communal experience, and allowing the individual movements (feminism, black panthers, etc.) to satisfy the needs of those with intersectional identities that the disability movement could not fully represent. However, it is also important to recognize Emily's consideration pointing out that a broad coalition does not necessarily exclude or obfuscate internal, more individual organizations. 

Working from these final points we drew as class closed, I'd like to present some questions that seek to extend our discussion or that I intended us to cover more fully in class. 

-Much of our dialogue negotiated between the individual and more general representation that coalitions provided. However, it must also be asked what determines the success and value of these alliances. Even if the coalitions do not suitably provide representation for certain individuals do they still have worth? Can they still be considered successful? 

-In solidifying some major themes and trends with which to consider disability history as a whole, in what ways do the interactions and progressions witnessed in this week's readings mirror those of our previous readings. 

- Within the context of this widespread amalgamation of organizations, the BLA occupies a unique position, employing rhetoric more associated with that of labor unions than the language of "rights and discrimination" used by most of the other concurrent social movements (as shown in this article (especially beginning on page 352)). The BLA is also distinct in that the participation of both able-bodied and disabled people was assumed from the outset. How has an understanding of disability been altered or adapted within this community and what does it reinforce about the interaction between the disabled and able-bodied in the general population? 

Though I doubt many of you have enterprised to read this post or plan on reflecting upon this week's readings any further, I hope that I've brought up some interesting points and questions for you to consider. 

-Patrick