Accessing the Future: a Disability-Themed Anthology of Speculative Fiction

Djibril Al-Ayad's and Kathryn Allan's Accessing the Future is a creative manifesto for disability rights, self-determination and the cultural relevance of speculative fiction. Beginning with the query, "What is much of science and technology, if not the ongoing pursuit of accommodations?",1 Al-Ayad and Allan introduce disability studies and science fiction as naturally complementary fields, with the former encouraging intersectionality in the latter and questioning the nature of accessibility. Al-Ayad and Allan state that "[d]isability, like all assumptions of what is and is not ‘normal’, is defined by society's expectations—it is not a person's ability or impairment but the willingness of our culture to include and accommodate all people that draws the line between disadvantage and accessibility".1 As such, it is appropriate that this collection is notably intersectional, with authors consistently raising class and affluence as integral to the discussion of disability and impairment, as well...

Source: Medical Humanities - November 23, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tweed, H. Tags: Electronic pages - Science fiction and medical humanities Source Type: research