Disability Studies is grounded in a social model approach to disability which is approached not in terms of biological difference but as an issue of institutional discrimination and social exclusion. The Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds has an international reputation in this area and maintains the Disability Archive, an online repository of academic writings and research.

As a Disability Studies student, I had to produce essays, which I have uploaded here for the benefit of visitors to the site.

Essay 1

Critically evaluate Carol Thomas’ (1999) contention that a fully rounded analysis of the experience of disablement must take a full account of the impact of ‘impairment effects’ on disabled people’s lives

Essay 2

Evaluate the assertion that current policies regarding health and social support services not only fail to provide disabled people with the necessary services to live independently within the community, but also deny them the dignity of independence in personal relationships and in their own homes