Abstract

The 2011 Lecture, ‘Disability Identity – Disability Pride’, will consider how disability is problematised far more than it is celebrated. Media portrayals of disabled people often project stereotypes which are usually negative and sometimes in the triumph over tragedy mode.

Many disabled people describe the barriers they encounter to full participation as their biggest source of frustration. Disabled students in elite universities are by definition exceptionally high achievers. The notion of disability identity-disability pride is addressed in this lecture which draws exclusively on the writings and experiences of disabled people, including some Cambridge students.

The event is organised jointly by the University of Cambridge Disability Resource Centre, the University of Cambridge Equality and Diversity section and St John’s College.