Dis/ability critical race studies (DisCrit): theorizing at the intersections of race and dis/ability

Abstract

In this article, we combine aspects of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Disability Studies (DS) to propose a new theoretical framework that incorporates a dual analysis of race and ability: Dis/ability Critical Race Studies, or DisCrit. We first examine some connections between the interdependent constructions of race and dis/ability in education and society in the United States and why we find it necessary to add another branch to Critical Race Theory and Disability Studies. Next, we outline the tenets of DisCrit, calling attention to its potential value as well as elucidate some tensions, cautions, and current limitations within DisCrit. Finally, we suggest ways in which DisCrit can be used in relation to moving beyond the contemporary impasse of researching race and dis/ ability within education and other fields.

Conceptualizations of Students With and Without Disabilities in Educational Research in Mathematics; A Critical Review

“…As mathematics education researchers, we must honor our long-standing commitment to equity for marginalized groups of students. Both activists and academics in the disability rights movement increasingly demand that diversity include disability [69]. While mathematics educational researchers bring an arsenal of conceptual and theoretical tools to their work, DSME provides an additional framework that shifts perception of disability from a deficit orientation toward one focused on difference and uniqueness.…”

“…While mathematics educational researchers bring an arsenal of conceptual and theoretical tools to their work, DSME provides an additional framework that shifts perception of disability from a deficit orientation toward one focused on difference and uniqueness. Thus, we seek a deeper analysis of disability in mathematics through these lenses, including analysis of how disability intersects with race and genders [69]. We call on all mathematics educational researchers to include students with disabilities in research, not as passive subjects, but as active constructors of meaning.…”

School choice or the politics of desperation? Black and Latinx parents of students with dis/abilities selecting charter schools in Chicago

“…Further, teachers' lack of understanding about dis/ability and prejudice about Black students were reflected in Kendall's narrative in which her son was labeled as lazy or busy, when he had a serious health condition. Black students (and Black people in general) have been historically deemed and punished for being lazy (Connor & Ferri, 2013). Reflecting this historical trend, Kendall's son was not deemed good or able to perform within the normative parameters of teachers' expectations of what a student supposed to know, do, and be.…”

“…To understand these effects at the intersections of race and dis/ability we draw from Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education (DisCrit; Annamma et al, 2013). Building from intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1991), DisCrit is based on the premise that notions of race and ability are co-constructed, "race, racism, dis/ability and ableism are built into the interactions, procedures, discourses, and institutions of education, which affect students of color with dis/abilities qualitatively differently than white students with dis/abilities" (Annamma et al, 2013, p. 7).…”

“…To understand how parents make schooling decisions for their children with dis/abilities we draw from an interdisciplinary critical lens that foregrounds the role of urban space restructuring (e.g., Brenner & Theodore, 2002Harvey, 2006Soja, 1989) at the intersection of education, race, and dis/ability (e.g., Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013;Lipman, 2011). As we describe this lens, we provide examples from Chicago, which has been a laboratory for testing neoliberal reforms on working class communities of color, as Lipman (this special issue) describes in detail.…”