The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Disability

The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Disability provides a timely and comprehensive overview of the wide range and depth of sociological theory and research on disability-brought together for the first time in one volume. Each section of the Handbook incorporates a uniquely sociological perspective, presented by a wide-range of experts on intersecting social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions of disability, that complements disability scholarship. The 37 chapters in this Handbook, organized into three major sections, provide an assessment of the history of the field, its current state, and the future for research on and in the sociology of disability.

The first section reviews frameworks foundational to the study of disability, pushes for the inclusion of broader global perspectives, and addresses important dimensions of representation. The second section presents a combination of perspectives that tie together individual biography, societal contexts, and historic change, while emphasizing continuity and change in the dynamic processes linking individuals, institutions, and structures over time. In the third section, contributors investigate the reproduction of inequality through law, policy, and related institutions and systems, while highlighting how social and political participation empowers people with disabilities and helps to mitigate inequalities and social marginalization. The chapters included in this volume offer a multifaceted resource for students and experienced scientists alike on historical developments, main standards, key issues, and current challenges in the sociological study of disability at the global, national, and regional levels.

Robyn Lewis Brown is a quantitative sociologist who specializes in the study of stigma and discrimination among women and people with disabilities. She has also written extensively about differential responses to collective trauma or macro-level stressors including those associated with the Great Recession, the 9/11 attacks and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. She has published more than 50 articles and chapters on these topics and is currently supported by a Switzer Fellowship from NIDILRR. She is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky, where she also serves as director of the Health, Society, and Populations Program. She is also deputy editor of Society and Mental Health and Sociological Perspectives and serves on the editorial board of several other academic journals including the Journal of Aging and Health, Stigma and Health, and Health Sociology Review. Her work has been featured in international and US-centric media outlets.

Michelle Maroto is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include social stratification, gender and family, race and ethnicity, labor and credit markets, and disability studies. Her recent projects address the many dimensions of wealth inequality, the complicated dynamics behind social class in Canada, and economic outcomes for people with different types of disabilities during the pandemic.

David Pettinicchio is associate professor of sociology and affiliated faculty in the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. His research lies at the intersection of politics and inequality, with a focus on disability as global axis of exclusion and marginalization. He published his book, Politics of Empowerment with Stanford University Press and recently edited Volume 28 of Research in Political Sociology (Emerald). He has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, and his work has also been featured in popular publications including The Washington Post, USA Today, HuffPost, The Globe and Mail, and the Toronto Star.