Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
Dispatches from Disabled Country
A reimagining of what it means to be disabled from Canadian disability rights advocate Catherine Frazee.
“Disability is not our worst-case scenario—our worst-case scenario would be its annihilation.” This is the starting point for this powerful collection of writing by and about Catherine Frazee, disability activist, Officer of the Order of Canada, and poetic scholar of justice. For Frazee, disability is not something to be dreaded or overcome but a force to be reckoned with—a prism of insight and experience that refracts new light upon our fundamental ideals of justice, beauty, and community.
Frazee has been a central figure in the disability rights landscape in Canada for decades. Her reasoned and passionate insights are topical and often ahead of their time. Always bold, always progressive, and frequently provocative, her work presents an unwavering, fierce commitment to engage in public debate from a position that centers the lives of disabled people.
Taken together, these writings chronicle the rising consciousness of a social movement of disabled people staking their claim in public policy and popular culture, a claim that is overdue for honest recognition.
“Disability is not our worst-case scenario—our worst-case scenario would be its annihilation.” This is the starting point for this powerful collection of writing by and about Catherine Frazee, disability activist, Officer of the Order of Canada, and poetic scholar of justice. For Frazee, disability is not something to be dreaded or overcome but a force to be reckoned with—a prism of insight and experience that refracts new light upon our fundamental ideals of justice, beauty, and community.
Frazee has been a central figure in the disability rights landscape in Canada for decades. Her reasoned and passionate insights are topical and often ahead of their time. Always bold, always progressive, and frequently provocative, her work presents an unwavering, fierce commitment to engage in public debate from a position that centers the lives of disabled people.
Taken together, these writings chronicle the rising consciousness of a social movement of disabled people staking their claim in public policy and popular culture, a claim that is overdue for honest recognition.
288 pages | 6 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2023
Disability Culture and Politics
Sociology: Social Change, Social Movements, Political Sociology
Reviews
Table of Contents
Foreword / Kathryn Church and Melanie Panitch
Preface: About Disabled Country / Catherine Frazee
Introduction / Christine Kelly and Michael Orsini
Refusing Extinction
Introduction / Harvey Chochinov
Death in Disabled Country: Declaring Ourselves in the MAiD Debate
Under the Microscope: Dissecting Law and Medicine in the Disability Rights Laboratory
Disability and Law: Rethinking Paradigms
Vigils for Tracy Latimer
Vulnerability and Inducement: Locating the Cart and the Horse
Disability Studies: The Genetic Counsellor’s Unexpected Guest
Lamb Affidavit
Disrupting Culture
Introduction / Eliza Chandler
Art with Attitude
Because We Are: Anthem for Disabled Country
Kicking the Applecart, Upsetting Culture
Absent Presence: Disability in (and out of) the Museum
Stelco’s Cabin, A Response
Contributing to Culture
Out from Under: Two Beginnings
Unmaking Vulnerability
Introduction / Laverne Jacobs
Violence, Disability, and Remembering
Courageous States
Disability in a Dangerous Time
Venom without Malice: On First Meeting a Rattlesnake
Separate but Equal, Isn’t
Activism Works
Why Monsters Matter: Portrait of the Activist as a Young Monster
Conclusion: An Interview with Catherine Frazee / Michael Orsini and Christine Kelly
Notes; References; Index
Preface: About Disabled Country / Catherine Frazee
Introduction / Christine Kelly and Michael Orsini
Refusing Extinction
Introduction / Harvey Chochinov
Death in Disabled Country: Declaring Ourselves in the MAiD Debate
Under the Microscope: Dissecting Law and Medicine in the Disability Rights Laboratory
Disability and Law: Rethinking Paradigms
Vigils for Tracy Latimer
Vulnerability and Inducement: Locating the Cart and the Horse
Disability Studies: The Genetic Counsellor’s Unexpected Guest
Lamb Affidavit
Disrupting Culture
Introduction / Eliza Chandler
Art with Attitude
Because We Are: Anthem for Disabled Country
Kicking the Applecart, Upsetting Culture
Absent Presence: Disability in (and out of) the Museum
Stelco’s Cabin, A Response
Contributing to Culture
Out from Under: Two Beginnings
Unmaking Vulnerability
Introduction / Laverne Jacobs
Violence, Disability, and Remembering
Courageous States
Disability in a Dangerous Time
Venom without Malice: On First Meeting a Rattlesnake
Separate but Equal, Isn’t
Activism Works
Why Monsters Matter: Portrait of the Activist as a Young Monster
Conclusion: An Interview with Catherine Frazee / Michael Orsini and Christine Kelly
Notes; References; Index