ABSTRACT

Tracing the history of people with disabilities is a project fraught with difficulty. This is especially true if we wish to move beyond the collection of quantitative data or analysis of medicalised discourse. Although there are one billion disabled people worldwide (WHO, 2011), studies of their historical, social and cultural experiences are limited – only more recently coming to the fore through the creative work of disabled people themselves – and even then too frequently omitted from or marginalized within the mainstream cultural agenda. It is our contention that this cultural invisibility must be challenged by a more imaginative and thorough investigation and utilization of archives and artifacts. In addition to bringing to light a wealth of individual and collective experiences, a more probing and sensitive approach to historical materials would both deepen our appreciation of the ways in which the past has helped to shape present attitudes to disability and, perhaps more importantly, increase our understanding of the richness, vibrancy, and texture of life within the disability community past and present.