Towards Enabling Geographies: Disabled Bodies and Minds in Society and Space

Over the past 15 years, geography has made very significant contributions to our understanding of disabled people's identities, lives and places in society and space. Bringing together the leading scholars in this field, Towards Enabling Geographies showcases the 'second wave' of geographical studies concerned with disability and embodied differences. It shows how this area of study has broadened and challenged conventional boundaries of 'disability', breaking new ground by expanding the kinds of embodied differences considered, while continuing to grapple with important challenges such as policy relevance and the use of more inclusionary research approaches. Theoretically, the book demonstrates the value of a spatial conceptualisation of disability and disablement to a broader social science audience, while examining how this conceptualisation can be further developed and refined.

This edited collection showcases some of the most innovative work currently being undertaken in the 'second wave' of geographies of disability. Its engagement with other bodies of difference broadens and deepens our understanding of disability; emphasising the importance of spatially infused interpretations of embodiment and disability; the growing importance of technology in disabled people's lives; and the ever important issues of policy and politics.-Christine Milligan, Lancaster University, UK

The editors are to be congratulated on this rich and rewarding collection that reflects the place of disability as a deepening stream within geographical inquiry.-Robin Kearns, The University of Auckland, New Zealand

Vera Chouinard, Professor, School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Canada, Dr. Edward Hall, Geography, School of Social and Environmental Sciences, University of Dundee, UK and Robert Wilton, McMaster University, Canada.