Constructions of disability and technology and the shaping of future research

Seale, Jane (2024). Constructions of disability and technology and the shaping of future research. In: Seale, Jane ed. A Research Agenda for Disability and Technology. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 1–18.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800888647.00008

Abstract

Disability and technology are not neutral concepts. In the disability and technology community they provoke a range of responses. Therefore, in order for us to produce an agenda for future research that is going to be meaningful, relevant and accepted by this community it is important to demonstrate an awareness of the tensions and sensitivities around how disability and technology are defined and constructed. This chapter will provide an overview of the main tensions and sensitivities in the field including paradigm shifts in models of disability; contested disability assumptions and language; shifts between specialist and mainstream technologies; tensions between techno-centric and techno-sceptic constructions of technology; and variations in technology terms and labels. The chapter will conclude by considering the implications for scoping a future research agenda and how the rest of the contributing chapters will relate to or illuminate the tensions and sensitivities in the field.