Includes bibliographical references (p. [267]-321) and index.

Acknowledgements Preface to the Second Edition Chapter 1. Introduction: Analysing Disability * Grass roots mobilisation * Sociological perspectives * A brief word on terminology * Overview of the book Chapter 2. Competing Models and Approaches * Socio-historical perspectives * The individual or medical model of disability * Looking beyond individual solutions * The social model of disability * The biopsychosocial model of disability * Review Chapter 3. Sociological Approaches to Chronic Illness and Disability * Functionalism, Parsons and the sick role * Labelling perspectives and stigmatisation * Negotiated and interpretive accounts * Medical and professional dominance * Towards a political economy of medicine and sickness * Embodiment and post structuralism * Review Chapter 4. Theories of Disability * Welfarism and its discontents * Theories of disability and oppression * Disability and social divisions * Postmodernism: back to the future? * Review Chapter 5. Social Exclusion and Disabling Barriers * Disability policy and the welfare state * Education * Financial circumstances * Employment * Built environment, housing and transport * Leisure and social participation * Review Chapter 6. Routes to Independent Living * The critique of residential institutions * Policy direction towards independence * Care or independence? * User led organisations centres for independent living * Direct payments * Service user involvement * Review Chapter 7. Politics and Disability Politics * Politics and disabled people * Civil rights and legislation * A new social movement? * Identity politics * Review Chapter 8. Culture, the Media and Identity * Sociological approaches to culture * Cultural representations of disability * Cultural studies approaches * Towards a disability culture * Review Chapter 9. Disability and the Right to Life * Ethics, culture and rights * Disability and Eugenics * Disability and biotechnology * Life and death decisions * Review Chapter 10. Disability and Development: Global Perspectives * Disability, industrialisation and globalization * Comparative perspectives on impairment * Poverty, disability and social exclusion * Internationalization of disability policy * Disability activism: mobilizing for change Review Bibliography

An introductory textbook for anyone studying disability. This book provides an overview of the existing literature in the area, and develops an understanding of disability that has implications for both sociology and society.