Loading...
When Ableism Meets a Pandemic: Narratives, Disability and COVID-19
Hoban, Luke A
Hoban, Luke A
Citations
Altmetric:
Genre
Thesis/Dissertation
Date
2021
Advisor
Committee member
Group
Department
Urban Bioethics
Permanent link to this record
Collections
Files
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/6493
Abstract
The United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has been shaped by the country’s pre-existing narratives around disability. The master narrative of disability presents disability as a static condition that inherently lowers a person’s quality of life. This creates bias in physicians dealing with disabled patients, since under the master narrative’s logic disability is a negative trait that must be eradicated or cured. This troubling view has wider ramifications during a global pandemic as well. The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped everybody’s relationship with time, bringing even nondisabled people closer to the experience of disability. However, the federal government and many state governments adhered as closely as possible to able-bodied conceptions of time. This has hindered the United States’ pandemic response by misprioritizing “reopening the economy” even at the expense of people’s lives. This creates a cycle, because this mismanaged response has led the country into even greater uncertainty about the pandemic, which moves everybody even closer to disabled conceptions of time. Had the master narrative not been so powerful, perhaps the United States could have responded more effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Description
Citation
Citation to related work
Has part
ADA compliance
For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact scholarshare@temple.edu
Embedded videos
License
IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available.